Centre directs 100% auction of dust tea grades from North India

The central government has issued an order mandating 100 per cent auction of dust tea grades from North India.

Amending the Tea (Marketing) Control Order, 2003, the Ministry of Commerce issued a gazette notification and said that the Tea (Marketing) Control (Amendment) Order, 2024, shall come into force with effect from April 1, 2024.

As per the amended order, 100 per cent of dust grade tea manufactured in a calendar year in its manufacturing units located in the geographical area of the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, is to be sold through public tea auctions. This does not apply to a mini tea factory.

The notification follows a meeting between Union Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, and stakeholders of the industry in early January.

In Assam and West Bengal, about 25 per cent of production is dust tea.

Commenting, Anshuman Kanoria, Chairman, Indian Tea Exporters Association, said, this was one of the directives given by the Union Commerce Minister on January 6 in a meeting with tea stakeholders in Kolkata where this had been requested unanimously by all associations present.

“The reliability and transparency of Maximum Residue Level (MRL) testing resulting from 100 per cent dust auctions will ensure better compliance in the North Indian tea industry and help boost tea exports,” he said.

Mohit Agarwal, Director, Asian Tea Company, said that the move would make the tea industry “robust and transparent”. “The 100 per cent dust auction move is a step in the right direction and will help MRL testing and compliance on a public platform. The samples drawn will be authentic and without influence or manipulation.”