Tea trade centre to come up in Kochi

The Tea Trade Association of Cochin has decided to set up a trade centre on the Willingdon Island, near here. The proposed centre would come up on 10 acre land to be provided by the Cochin Port Trust (CPT).

“Willingdon Island in Cochin port is a main tea auction centre in south India. Brokers, buyers and sellers operating here transact about 70 million kg tea every year. However, the operations are scattered and labour-intensive with blending being done manually. CPT proposes to promote a tea trade centre, which will evolve as a major tea consolidation centre with modern amenities for warehousing, blending and packaging,” said Paul Antony, chairman, CPT.

The tea board has welcomed the move and has assured support, he stated.

The centre will have a fully automated warehousing facility with capacity to store about 10,000 tonne and most modern processing equipment apart from providing office space for more than 10 corporate houses. The commerce minister is likely to provide about Rs 100 crore for setting up the centre apart from equity contribution from the stakeholders.