Buyers apprehensive about growth of Small Tea Growers (STG)

Growth of Small Tea Growers (STG) in Assam has created apprehensions among upcountry buyers regarding deterioration in the quality of tea in the future.
''During discussions with upcountry buyers, we sense the fear expressed by them that the quality of tea may deteriorate in future due to the growth of small growers sector'', North Eastern Tea Association Chairman Bidyananda Barkakoty said here today.
This fear is mainly due to the fact that tea manufactured at factories will be of different qualities,he pointed out.
The buyers are also apprehensive whether the tea produced from the green leaf of such plantations will adhere to norms laid down under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) or not.

Allaying the apprehension of buyers, Barkakoty said that such fear was unwarranted as those who took up tea plantation in small plots of land are mostly farmers or unemployed educated youths.
''A farmer knows how to do farming whether it is tea or any other crop. They are mostly indigenous people and have grown up with the air, land and water of this region'', he added.
Moreover, the small tea growers movement is now more than thirty years old and the planters have also gained a lot of knowledge and expertise during this long period of time.
It is a fact that in the next few years, 35 per cent of tea will be produced by factories registered as BLF (Bought Leaf Factory) and 50 per cent of tea produced will be from purchased leaf.