Tea Plantation

Hours after JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand, his government on Thursday approved the formation of a panel to study the plight of the "marginalised" tea tribes in Assam. The decision, taken in the first cabinet meeting of the Soren government, came against the backdrop of the poll battle between the JMM-led coalition and NDA, in which Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma repeatedly raised the issue of the "predicament" of Jharkhand's tribal community due to alleged large-scale infiltration from Bangladesh. "In Assam, tribes from Jharkhand are being marginalised. A large number of original inhabitants of Jharkhand are residing there. We have decided that an all-party panel will study the ground situation there. The panel will submit its report to the Jharkhand government," Soren said while briefing the media on the decisions of his first cabinet meeting. Sarma was the BJP's election co-in-charge for Jharkhand. Soren had raised the issu

Some in the industry warn companies will end financial year with marginal profit

India has doubled its grant to Rs 172.25 million to support education in Sri Lanka's plantation areas for the Indian-origin Tamil community. Indian High Commission to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha and Secretary of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Education and Science and Technology J M Thilaka Jayasundara on Friday signed and exchanged diplomatic letters to formalise the modalities. The project envisages the upgradation of infrastructure of 9 plantation schools identified by the Government of Sri Lanka. These include 6 schools in the plantation areas of Central Province and one school each in Uva, Sabaragamuwa and Southern Province," Jha said. With the additional funds infused at the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, India's total commitment to the project now stands at 600 million Sri Lanka rupees (INR 172.25 million). The project would add to India's numerous past and ongoing development partnership initiatives in Sri Lanka in the important sector of education. Besides support for ...

Tea garden workers in north Bengal's Dooars and Terai regions will receive a 16 per cent bonus for the 2023-24 financial year, an industry body said on Monday. The Tea Association of India, in a statement, said that the industry-wide bonus agreement was reached after due deliberations between trade union representatives and members of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA), which represents employers. TAI said that the industry has been passing through a severe financial crisis for a prolonged period. In the previous 2022-23 fiscal, the tea industry in north Bengal had settled for a bonus payout of 19 per cent. According to TAI, the economic sustainability of tea gardens in north Bengal is in "jeopardy". The adverse weather conditions have affected the health of bushes, leading to a considerable drop in production during the year. The crop of the first and second flush, which produce the best quality tea, has suffered a loss, affecting cash flow of the garde

A body of the tea industry has come out with a climate-smart seed variety which can withstand high temperatures and yield quality crops, an official said on Sunday. The new seed stock 'TSS 2', introduced by the Tea Research Association (TRA), will help the industry prepare itself to counter the negative effects of climate change, he said. The TRA is funded by the Ministry of Commerce and the tea industry. The new seed variety has been introduced at a time "when tea production is down by 80 million kgs till now in 2024 due to extreme heat and climatic factors," TRA secretary Joydeep Phukan told PTI. Extreme heat is making a significant impact on tea plantations in Assam and north Bengal, the two largest tea-producing regions in the country. "To combat the effects of climate change, TRA released the first climate-smart tea seed stock TSS 2. The new seed variety can withstand high temperatures and the new seed stock can produce high-quality tea," he said. The traditional tea-growing

Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota on Saturday called for concerted efforts to revitalise the tea industry by focussing on promoting quality over quantity. Addressing the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of All India Tea Traders Association (FAITTA), he urged the stakeholders to ensure safe and quality tea. He also expressed concern over the ongoing trend of selling tea products at low prices and stated that it must be addressed immediately for the economic well-being of lakhs of small tea growers and tea garden workers across Assam. Kota also urged packers to promote high-quality teas with the government taking a firm stand by supporting the closure of production within November 30 to prevent the production of poor-quality teas. He said the Assam government has implemented several initiatives to ensure that tea as India's national beverage remains safe and its sales processes transparent. The state government remains committed to the tea industry and all associated ...

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Small tea growers in Assam, who account for nearly half of the tea grown in this North Eastern state, are staring at uncertainty with the bought leaf tea factories (BLFs) to stop procuring their green leaves from next month over quality compliance regulations. The Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers Association (ABLTMA) had announced shutting down its factories from June one as it is not possible to produce FSSAI-compliant teas from untested green leaves provided by small growers. A Team Board India notification earlier this year made it mandatory for manufacture of only compliant tea by the BLFs. With no testing done of the green leaves, if the made tea is found non-compliant when sent for mandatory public auction, the failed teas will be destroyed with penal action against the BLFs, as per the notification. The small-scale planters, on their part, maintained that they are working on cent per cent compliance by all their members, while urging for more time to ensure it and seeking

Being the world's most consumed drink, tea can bring health benefits and wellness due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and weight loss effects. It also has cultural significance in many societies

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Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election rally in Nalbari on Wednesday, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera claimed that the PM skipped upper Assam where polls are due in the first phase as he was "afraid" of facing tea garden workers for "not fulfilling" promises. Stating that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Nyay Yatra' was not permitted in Guwahati in view of commuters' problems, Khera criticised Modi for holding a roadshow through the busy Guwahati-Shillong Road on Tuesday evening, claiming that it created problems for all, from patients to office-goers since the morning. Addressing a press conference here, Khera said, "We don't know why the prime minister is not coming to upper Assam. He is going to Nalbari where elections are in the third phase. Perhaps he is afraid of facing tea garden workers here as their daily wages are still at Rs 250 and four-laning of national highway is yet to be completed." Elections to five Lok Sabha constituencies - Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kazirang

The Tea Board has ordered the closure of manufacturing units in the tea growing areas in North India during winter for a better crop in the first flush of next year. As per the Board's order, the last date for plucking or receiving green leaves for all tea factories in Darjeeling, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand has been put at December 11. While that for Dooars and Terai regions of West Bengal, and Bihar is December 23. The last date for processing of green leaf at the factories in Darjeeling, Sikkim, HP and Uttarakhand has been put at December 13, while that for Terai, Dooars and Bihar is December 26. The order also said that the last date of completion of sorting, packing and moving the packed teas to notified storage areas with invoice marking has been decided to be on December 26 for Darjeeling, Sikkim, HP and Uttarakhand. For Dooars, Terai and Bihar, it is January 6, 2024, for CTC variety and January 11 for the orthodox and green tea varieties. According to the tea

Tea major Goodricke Group Ltd, a part of the UK-based Camellia Plc, is hoping to return in black this fiscal and looking to diversify into the hospitality sector with an aim at offsetting its losses in the plantation business in Darjeeling, Managing Director and CEO Atul Asthana said. The company, however, is expecting a flat growth in tea production this year to around 32 million kgs, including the output of its three subsidiaries, and is likely to witness a de-growth in revenue in the current fiscal as "subdued tea prices" remain a concern for it, he said. The group will look for acquisitions of gardens in Assam in near future, particularly after the industry gets rid of the "current difficult phase", he said. "The Goodricke and its subsidiaries together annually produce around 30 million kgs. There will be a flat growth this year as output is expected to be 32 million kgs. The revenue of the group as a whole was around Rs 1,200 crore last year but we may witness a de-growth in ..

Chai Day is huge as it celebrates the exotic varieties of tea in India. Chai or tea is also referred to as 'masala chai'. It was first presented in Asia as a herbal drink

Sri Lankan minister Ramesh Pathirana on Wednesday said small tea growers contribute around 77 per cent of the island country's total production, and the government is providing subsidiy to the STGs. Speaking at a BIMSTEC event on tea organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here, Pathirana said Sri Lanka is also trying to adopt technology to raise productivity. There is a need to protect the existing markets and also go for value addition. Our government is giving subsidy to the small tea growers to support replantation activity, adoption of technology and best agricultural practices," he said. Most of the tea produced in the island country is exported, and the major exporting destinations include Russia, Turkey and Iran, the minister said. Sri Lanka produced 250 million kg of tea last year, which is expected to go up to 280 million kg in this calendar year, he said. "The biggest challenge is the shrinking global market for tea, Pathirana added. Speaking on the occasion, MD of

Tea planters in Tripura are witnessing a "shortage" in production due to a prolonged dry spell in the northeastern state with "falling" prices of the crop creating pressure on margins, stakeholders said on Sunday. Tea plantations, the second largest industry in the state after rubber, are facing "crop loss" this season due to a drought-like situation, Tripura Tea Development Corporation (TTDC) chairman Santosh Saha said. Our production has been hit due to drought-like conditions. There is a shortage of leaves, and the volume in the auction market has also come down. It is a difficult situation for us to get profit," he told PTI. State-run TTDC has five estates and two manufacturing units with an annual production capacity of eight lakh kg. Tripura produces 90 lakh kg of tea annually. There is no support price for tea from the government as provided for paddy. This system prevails in the whole country," Saha said. Unakoti district's Manu Valley tea garden manager Prabir De said th

'Any additional revenue stream welcome,' says the company that has estates in several states

Signs deal with Dhunseri group for the last four estates it currently owns

The Tea Board has sought an assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for the industry in the next five years starting 2022-23. Chairman of Tea Board Saurav Pahari said that in the budget submitted to the Union Commerce ministry, focus has been on handholding the small tea growers (STGs) which contribute to 52 per cent of the total production in the country. "We have sought an assistance of Rs 1,000 crore in the budget submitted to the ministry for a period of five years starting 2022-23", Pahari told reporters after the AGM of Indian Tea Association (ITA) here on Thursday. He said that the budget is primarily intended to handhold the STGs which contribute to 52 per cent of the country's production volumes. Pahari said the Tea Board had also sought subsidy for orthodox tea production which has a good export market. "It is good to note that the tea industry on the whole now acknowledges the contribution of the STGs. It should be collaborative effort between the big tea planters and the STGs for

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