Order on mandatory tea auctions under reconsideration

The Tea Board of India met the tea industry stakeholders and commerce ministry officials to reconsider the government order making it mandatory for tea leaf factories to sale 70 percent products though open auctions.

"Meetings between commerce ministry and relevant stakeholders in the tea industry have been held and the (TMCO) order is under review," Tea Board of India director for tea development S. Soundararajan told media persons here on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Tea Association of India.

The amendment to the Tea Marketing Control Order, 2003, (TMCO) has made it compulsory for the small, bought-tea leaf factories to sell 70 percent of their output through open auctions.

The Tea Board of India has abolished the compulsory notarised declaration over cultivation practices, standards and management of personnel from tea gardens and replaced this with self-attested declarations, Soundararajan said.

"This has made it easier for the planters," he said.

-- Indo-Asian News Service

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