Assam: NETA to honour Wagh Bakri chairman with Lifetime Achievement Award

GOLAGHAT: The North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) has decided to confer Lifetime Achievement Award to Piyush Desai. Piyush Desai is the Chairman of Wagh Bakri Tea Group. Wagh Bakri Tea Group has a presence in tea business since 1892. Today, Wagh Bakri Tea Group owns and operates one of the leading packaged tea companies in India with a turnover of over Rs.2000 Cr. and over 50 million Kgs of tea distribution with an estimated 9% market share. It is   the   third-largest   tea   brand   in   India,   behind   big   conglomerates   such   as Hindustan Unilever and Tata Consumer Products in that order.

"Piyush Desai is a tea maestro - he is a tea tasting and evaluation expert and visionary in the tea industry. He has rich experience of over six decades in the tea industry. He is a Patriarch  of Wagh Bakri Tea Group and has been instrumental in setting high standards of quality in the Company with his deep knowledge and insights of the industry", said Ajay Dhandharia, Immediate Past Chairman of NETA.

"Piyushbhai Desai is one of the leading patriarchs of Indian tea industry. He was Chairman of Federation of All India Tea Traders Association (FAITTA), an apex body of packers and traders   of   tea   of   our   country.   He   is   a   founder   chairman   of   Western   India   Tea   Dealers Association (WITDA)", said Bidyananda Barkakoty, Adviser NETA.

Barkakoty also said "there is a special bond between Assam and Gujarat due to the fact that Assam is the largest producer of tea and Gujarat is the largest consumer of tea in India".

In  the  past,   NETA  had   conferred  Lifetime   Achievement  Award   to  two   octogenarians  - Apurba Kumar Barooah and Sagar Mehta, both of whom have immensely contributed to the tea industry and society at large, stated a press release.

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