A CORRESPONDENT
DIBRUGARH: Assam Chai Bazaar conducted its inaugural tea auction at H.M. Resort in Dibrugarh on Friday, marking the launch of a new tea auction centre in Upper Assam.
The inaugural programme was attended by Tea Board India's Executive Director, North Eastern Zonal Office, Arunita Phukan Yadav; Deputy Director D.M. Kakoty; former Tea Board India Chairman Prabhat Bezboruah; Assam Tea Planters Association Chairman Samudra Prasad Barooah; veteran tea planter Mrigendra Jalan; and representatives of Assam Chai Bazaar, including Chand Kumar Gohain and Deven Singh.
The dignitaries were felicitated before the ceremonial lighting of the lamp. The programme also featured the State Song, followed by a welcome address by Deven Singh.
Addressing the gathering, Yadav welcomed the establishment of the new auction centre and said Assam Chai Bazaar must function in accordance with the rules and directives of Tea Board India governing tea auctions across the country.
She said the Auction Organiser Licence was issued on 18 July, and the inaugural auction was conducted within around two months. She described the development as commendable and urged the organisers to bring in the maximum number of buyers to ensure healthy competition and fair price discovery for sellers.
Bezboruah and Barooah also welcomed the establishment of the producer-led auction centre, saying it would help address the interests of tea producers and sellers.
The inaugural auction began at 12 noon as per the schedule circulated by Tea Board India, with the bidding and sales process completed within an hour.
According to Deven Singh, 18 buyers participated in the inaugural sale. Some major buyers, including Hindustan Unilever Limited, could not participate due to technical issues at their end.
The CTC Leaf category comprised 175 lots, covering 4,419 packages containing 148,531 kg of tea. Of the total quantity, 61.33 per cent was sold at an approximate average price of Rs 206 per kg.
The CTC Dust category comprised 83 lots, with 1,968 packages containing 74,693.5 kg of tea. The sale percentage stood at 63.16 per cent, with an approximate average price of Rs 210 per kg. The combined average price of tea sold during the inaugural auction was approximately Rs 207 per kg.
A total of 126 sellers and more than 50 buyers participated in the auction.
Veteran tea planter Mrigendra Jalan said the new auction centre would help reduce the additional transportation costs incurred by tea producers in sending their tea to auction centres in Kolkata and Guwahati.
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