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The central government plans to intensify testing of imported teas into India to check for compliance with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) quality norms.
This decision was made during a meeting by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with tea industry stakeholders from Assam and West Bengal in Kolkata on Saturday. The minister directed the FSSAI to step up testing.
Briefing the media on the meeting, Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and Tea Board Chairman, said that it was decided by consensus that there was a need to increase the level of testing. 'We will follow up with the FSSAI. Wherever testing capacity has to be increased, we will come up with a plan for that.'
He explained that concerns were raised about the quality of imported tea. 'So that’s to be tested, but it would be for domestic teas as well.'
Atul Asthana, Chairman, Indian Tea Association and Managing Director, Goodricke Group, said this was a good decision. 'Any tea coming into India should be checked as per the existing FSSAI norms applicable.'
Provisional data shows that during the period January-August 2023, tea imports stood at 14.75 million kilograms (mkg), with Nepal at 8.14 mkg, Kenya at 3.07 mkg, and Vietnam at 1.25 mkg. In January-August 2022, total imports into India were at 17.80 mkg.
Another significant decision at the meeting was regarding the auction of dust tea. Bhatia said that it was agreed by the stakeholders that 100 per cent of dust tea in the North would be sold through e-auction for three months on a trial basis, effective from April 1.
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'We are hoping that it will help us in improving quality and also price realisation for the growers," Tea Board Chairman said.
Asked whether it would be extended to other grades as well, Bhatia said, 'We will evaluate the results of the trial.'
A supervisory body involving industry stakeholders will look into the dust tea auctions.
The Tea (Marketing) Control Order stipulates that 50 per cent of tea should be sold through auctions, but this is not complied with, industry representatives said.
In Assam and West Bengal, about 25 per cent of production is dust tea.
