A major discrepancy between the tea import figures published by the Tea Board of India and the actual volume of imports has raised serious concerns in the industry, according to Sandeep Singhania, president of the Tea Association of India (TAI).
Kenya's tea export volumes surged 20.8 per cent in the first ten months of 2024, boosted by increased demand in destination markets, the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) said.
The North Bengal Tea Producers’ Welfare Association (NBTPWA), representing Bought Leaf Factory (BLF) owners in north Bengal, has voiced its concerns regarding the Tea Board's recent directive mandating the closure of all tea factories by 2 December.
Even though winter is still far away, the Tea Board of India has already revealed the official dates for harvesting and preparing tea in 2024.
Darjeeling's BJP MP Raju Bista today said that and "Experts' Committee" under the Tea Board of India will be sent to the Hills to study the problems facing the tea industry.
"The preamble to the Tea Act 1953 has used the word 'control' of Union of India in the matter of cultivation and export. This aspect of 'control is incongruous in the present day context where the keywords in place have been 'deregulation' and 'decontrolling' of various aspects of an industry."
"Despite the at least 20 percent production loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CCPA, keeping in mind the workers' plight during the lockdown, has agreed to make such bonus payment," an official said.
On this, Mr Bista said he has drawn the attention of the Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), J Satyanarayan, on 14 January this year, and requested him to set up the Aadhar Registration and Correction Centre for the Darjeeling parliamentary area.
Significantly, the TIPA president Mahendra Bansal, at an interaction with the press in Siliguri today, appreciated the state government’s role on three points and blamed the TBI for the present crisis in the tea industry as he explained how the industry has been reeling under 'severe crisis'.
Addressing the 49th Annual General Meeting of the TAI here today, Mr Bansal said: “The non-disbursal of the accumulated subsidy amount for the 11th and 12th Plan period has seriously compromised the Tea Board’s role of acting as a developmental agency, a position that needs to be urgently rectified.”
