Need remedial steps to help struggling tea sector: SIFO

South Indian Farmers' Organisations today stressed the need to find the real cause for the continuous fall in tea prices and take remedial measures to save the sector.
Despite being the most popular beverage in the world, lakhs of tea growers, workers, and small tea factory owners were facing difficulties due to the fall in the prices of green tea leaves, M S Selvaraj, Convener, SIFO, told reporters here.
Many tea estates, including TANTEA, and tea factories were shut down due to this in Nilgiris district, where tea cultivation is most predominant in South India, he said.
It was a similar situation in other major tea growing areas as Kerala, Assam, Darjeeling and West Bengal and it was important to rescue the sector and those who depend on this for survival, from the imminent crisis, he said.

A National Conference for Tea Development is being organised at Gudalur on January 24 to bring all stakeholders including Central and State governments, officials, growers, workers and factory owners and focus on the critical issues facing the entire sector, he said.
The recommendations would be taken up with central and state governments for taking necessary remedial steps,he said.