In order to protect small tea growers hit by declining prices, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today set up of a 'Price Stabilisation Fund for Green Tea Leaf' with a corpus of Rs 12 crore.
The fund will benefit 22,000 small tea growers in the hill district of Nilgris "who are hit by international fall in the prices of tea", she said in a statement here.
"If the price fixed by factories under Tamil Nadu Small Tea Growers Industrial Cooperative Tea Factories Federation Ltd (INDCOSERVE) happens to be less than that of the minimum price determined by Tea Board, an additional support price of Rs 2 per kg for green tea leaf will be given to small tea growers from the stabilsaiton fund," she said.
The state government would contribute Rs 8 crore and INDCOSERVE will pitch in with Rs 4 crore towards the corpus for the current fiscal.
Every year, INDCOSERVE will give 75 per cent of its profits from the sale of "Ooty tea" and the rest will be provided by the government to price stabilisation fund.
