Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The order for the mandatory auction of 100% dust grade tea has been extended for a period of six months, with effect from January 2025. The earlier order by the Tea Board of India on the auction of dust grade tea was effective till December 31, 2024.
The Tea Board of India has issued a fresh order dated January 17, 2025, in which it was stated that the provisions contained in paragraph 21 (1) of the Tea (Marketing) Control Order, 2003, shall remain applicable for an additional period of six months from January 1, 2025. Therefore, the order for the mandatory auction of dust tea is calculated to remain in force until June 30, 2025.
In its original order dated March 3, 2024, the Tea Board had mandated compulsory auction of 100% dust grade tea by registered tea manufacturers of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal through public tea auctions held under the control of the organizers of tea auctions licensed to do so under the Tea (Marketing) Control Order, 2003. The order was effective from April 1, 2024.
In this connection, a committee was constituted for the overall monitoring of the auction of the dust grade of tea, assessing impact and submitting its recommendations to the Tea Board.
The committee comprised the Chairman/Chairperson of the Indian Tea Association, Chairman of the North Eastern Tea Association Ajay Dhandharia, Director of the Indian Tea Exporters' Association Mohit Agarwal, and Managing Director of Mokalbari Kanoi Tea Estates Pvt Ltd.
It should be mentioned here that dust tea is the lowest grading of tea and is gathered from the crushing of broken leaves, which leaves only small tea particles. Tea bags frequently contain tea dust, and their flavour does not usually last over repeated steepings.
The Tea Board's order was based on an order of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry dated February 23, 2024.
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