Small tea growers

Small tea growers of the Tinsukia district have complained that green tea leaves coming from Arunachal Pradesh to the bought-leaf factories in upper Assam have posed a threat to them. Their complaint is that most of the green leaf coming from Arunachal Pradesh is substandard in quality, which, after being manufactured, has brought a bad reputation to Assam Tea. Based on this allegation, the Tinsukia District Small Tea Association has appealed to the Assam Government to ban the entry of green leaf from the neighbouring state. The Association has accused a section of bought-leaf factories of procuring substandard green leaf at lower rates from Arunachal Pradesh and passing it off to the market as Assam Tea after manufacture. If these allegations are proved true, then it is a matter of concern for both states. Assam tea in general and Assam Orthodox in particular have a very high reputation across the globe. Though the Singpho community is said to be the oldest grower and consumer of tea in India, Arunachal Pradesh has entered its name as a tea-growing state only in the past two decades or so. Considering the climatic condition of the eastern part of the state, Arunachal Pradesh should be able to grow very high-quality tea. But then, going by reports that the bulk of green leaf produced in Arunachal Pradesh is sent out to bought-leaf factories in Assam, the state is probably missing an opportunity to position its tea properly in the all-India or international market. Most importantly, Arunachal Pradesh has the advantage of producing exclusively organic tea, which can fetch good prices, be it in the domestic market or abroad. Earlier media reports, however, say that in the absence of good factories in the state, small tea growers of Arunachal Pradesh are allegedly left at the mercy of a section of bought-leaf factories inside Assam which dictate the price, pushing the Arunachal growers to face the challenge of a sudden drop in the price of green leaf. In such a situation, the governments of both states have a crucial role to intervene and find an early solution. Small tea growers of Arunachal Pradesh are not enemies or competitors of small tea growers of Assam. Growers on both sides should thus hold hands and stop the bought-leaf factories from dictating the price. Simultaneously, it is the duty of small tea growers, be it in Assam or in Arunachal Pradesh, to commit themselves in order to ensure that no grower uses chemical fertiliser and sells substandard green leaf to the bought-leaf factories. The Tea Board of India, which has been contributing immensely by hand-holding the small tea growers of the Northeastern Region, must also intervene immediately.