Deadline fixed for ending tea leaf plucking season in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Tea Board of India has fixed deadlines for cessation of plucking of tea leaves each year in Assam. The Tea Board has directed that plucking of tea leaves in the Brahmaputra Valley will stop on December 10 and it will stop on December 17 in the Barak Valley.

The Tea Board has simultaneously fixed December 25 as the deadline for completion of processing of tea – including sorting, gapping, packing etc. However, the deadline for processing in case of CTC and Orthodox teas has been fixed on December 29.

According to Tea Board sources, this step has been taken to ensure that the quality of Assam tea is maintained by various manufacturers. In recent times, international buyers have been complaining of a decline in the standard of Indian tea in general, the bulk of which is manufactured in Assam, the sources said.

The sources said that tea leaves stop growing in the winter and if anyone plucks tea leaves during his season then the quality of tea will definitely suffer. The Tea Board will keep a strict vigil to ensure that the embargo on tea leaf plucking is followed by all tea gardens of the state.

Assam produces around 700 million kg of tea annually. Out of this amount, small tea growers contribute around 50 per cent and the rest is manufactured by bigger tea gardens.

According to the sources, the problem regarding dip in quality lies to an extent in non-adherence to tea leaf plucking norms by a section of small tea growers. Moreover, the bought leaf factories pay such small tea growers reduced prices.

The sources said that each season, a committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner concerned fixes the price of green tea leaf. However, many big tea gardens and bought leaf factories do not pay the fixed price to the small tea growers by citing excuses such as poor quality of green tea leaf.

According to sources in the Small Tea Growers' Association, they pay labourers Rs 5 per kg of green tea leaf plucked and the cost of transporting the leaves to the factory is around Rs 2 per kg. Taking into account initial investment and maintenance costs, there is no profit margin for the small tea growers if they get a price of only Rs 14-15 per kg, the sources said.

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