Total sale of dust tea through public auction opposed

NETA opposes government tea auction mandate; advocates for industry self-regulation, quality assurance, and sustainable practices for climate change resilience.

GUWAHATI

The North Eastern Tea Association (NETA), a body of planters and producers, has opposed a gazette notification making it compulsory for producers to sell 100% of their dust teas through public auction.

The notification from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on February 26 also said at least 50% of other grades of tea – orthodox and the granular CTC (crush, tear, and curl) primarily – should reach the markets through the auction route.

“In a liberalised globalised economy, we feel there is no need for the government to issue a notification to compulsorily sell a certain percentage of tea through public auction. The government should not try to regulate a particular segment of the trade (tea producers) when it has no control over the market forces,” NETA chairman Kamal Jalan said after the association’s 21st biennial general meeting on March 13.

Asserting that any compulsion for the disposal of tea through public auctioning would threaten the survivability of the tea industry, the NETA asked the government to withdraw the Tea (Marketing) Control (Amendment) Order of 2024.

Other tea producers’ groups such as the Tea Association of India had welcomed the government notification, which they said would ensure “fair price discovery” for the beverage industry.

On the concerns over the chemical content in tea, NETA advisor Bidyananda Barkakoty said the producers want every cup of tea to be safe for human consumption by being Food Safety and Standards Authority of India-complaint.