Tea Board cancels permanent licences of 150 traders

Tea Board has issued orders to cancel the permanent exporter's licences of 150 traders for not exporting any quantity of the commodity in the last three years.

The board has also cancelled 88 temporary exporter's licence of traders due to non-submission of monthly export returns.

The permanent licences of 150 traders have been cancelled as these traders have not exported any tea in the preceding three years, the board said in its order.

Anyone who wants to export tea needs to obtain an exports licence from the Tea Board.

The exporter is first issued a temporary licence for three years which needs to be renewed.

However, if the exporter exports 100,000 kg or more of tea every year for three successive years, thereafter, the exporter will be issued a permanent licence that does not require renewal.

The permanent licences stand cancelled as these traders have not exported any tea in the last three years, a Board official said.

He added that licences of temporary traders are cancelled as they have not submitted monthly export returns as per the provisions of the Tea Board.

The country's tea production rose by 12.59 per cent to 156.70 million kg in September on account of higher output in southern regions and West Bengal.

The output stood at 144.11 million kg in the same month last year, according to Board estimates.

Assam and West Bengal are the two major tea producing states with their combined production accounting for about 80 per cent of the total output.

India is the world's second-largest producer and the biggest consumer of tea.

The country's tea production increased 3.62 per cent to 1,135 million kg in 2012-13 while output stood at 1.095 billion kg in the previous year, 2011-12.

Tea plucking in India usually picks up between July and October.

Demand for tea usually rises in the winter season, which begins in November.