Tea Board seeks Rs 1,000 crore support for industry for five years

The Tea Board India has submitted a Rs 1,000 crore budget to the ministry of commerce for assisting and boosting the tea industry.

Economic subvention for small tea growers – that account for about 52 per cent of production – subsidy for orthodox tea production and increasing consumption of tea in the domestic and international markets through promotion were part of the five-year proposal till FY27. 

“We have big plans for the next five years,” said Saurav Pahari, chairman, Tea Board, at the annual general meeting of the Indian Tea Association.

Pointing to global headwinds, Pahari said that the international dynamics would not be very stable in the near future. “We have to rise to the occasion.”

Domestic consumption had not picked up as it was expected to, the Tea Board chairman said. And Pahari harped on the need to build a brand.

Indian tea has to become a brand, he said. Citing Indian coffee planters as an example, he said that they were now trying to emulate what Colombian coffee had done. 

“Colombian coffee has become a brand. It is no longer a commodity, Indian tea must emulate that. We must no longer be a bulk-based commodity exporter,” Pahari said. 

Exports

Exports have seen a higher trend this year, up by 12.6 per cent during January to July. ITA chairperson, Nayantara Palchoudhuri, said, “With sustained efforts we have made inroads into Turkey and Syria. Export in 2022 is estimated to touch 230 kg which would be a remarkable increase from 196 mkg of 2021.”

The target volume for exports within the next 3-4 years is 350 mkg, she said.

The ITA chairperson however pointed out that the scope for higher export hinges on higher production of orthodox, in tune with its popularity and demand abroad. And urged the Tea Board and ministry to restore the orthodox incentive from the central government so that orthodox tea producers including Darjeeling are incentivised substantively at a higher rate.

Stress in the industry

Palchoudhuri said that the tea price trajectory of the last decade reflects a prolonged phase of stagnation in price growth which consequently pushed a large segment of the industry into crisis.

“For sustainability of the industry, we need a system that will enable the producer to pass on the perpetual increase in cost of production due to rising input and wage costs,” she said.

The Tea Board chairman however called for bringing in technologies so that labour is optimised to bring down the cost of production in the industry. “Cost, not price, is the only thing that can be controlled,” he pointed out.