Tea e-auction set for launch

Electronic auction of tea is likely to start within the next few months.

Speaking on the sidelines of the International Potato Expo 2008 in Kolkata on Wednesday, Jairam Ramesh, Union minister of state for commerce, said, the government was "looking into the possibility" of starting e-auction of tea and was likely to finalise the design by the middle of March 2008.

Public tea auction handles more than 500 million kilograms annually. "Work for e-auction of tea is progressing, and the design for the e-auction will be up by the middle of March," he said.

This apart, the government is examining the possibility of starting e-auction for tobacco and chilli. The government had launched e-auction in cardamom at Bodinayakannur in Kochi last August.

Ramesh said, the e-auction for cardamom was progressing well, and prices were better at Rs 500-700 per kg after the e-auction started, against Rs 300 on an average earlier.