Indian Tea Association (ITA) Opposes Rapid Increase in Tea Production
GUWAHATI: The Indian Tea Association (ITA) has opposed rapid increase in tea production in the coming years if the prices for the green leaf do not rise.
The ITA officials, tea planters and other stakeholders of the industry while participating in the 129th annual general meeting of Assam branch of ITA in Jorhat on Saturday, reached at a broad consensus that there was absolutely no need to increase tea production in future in case prices as well consumption of tea did not see a rising trend.
“The issue of rapid increase in production and lower pace of increase in consumption does not augur well for the tea industry and this unhealthy demand-supply situation is one of the primary reasons for poor prices in auctions,” ITA Chairman Vivek Goenka said. Speaking at the annual general meeting of ITA in Jorhat, Goenka said the industry is not being remunerated enough for its teas.
Goenka said the global tea production in 2018 was up by over 60 million kg compared to the previous year because of a surge in Kenyan crop by around 52 million kg. He said the tea production in India in 2018 was to the tune of 1,318 million kg as compared to 1,322 million kg in 2017, largely because of the Tea Board’s order to suspend production from mid-December, which was a welcome step.
During the annual general meeting, the stakeholders of the tea industry also expressed serious concern over stagnant prices of green leaf. It was felt during the meeting that the industry will not be able to meet the rising aspirations of their workforce and invest in estates and factories if they do not get remunerative prices.
“Prices are the prime issue of the industry in the current scenario. While costs of tea production continue to increase, the increase in prices has been marginal. In the last five years, the compound annual growth rate of input costs has been close to 11 per cent, but the corresponding growth in tea prices has been below two per cent,” an ITA official said.
Even though wages of labourers increased to the tune of 25 per cent in 2018 in Assam, the tea prices increased only by around three per cent from Rs 152.75 per kg in 2017 to Rs 157.69 per kg in 2018.
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