Plan to merge Tea Board with others put on hold: Bezbaruah

Tea Board chairman P K Bezbaruah said the government has put on hold the plan to merge all the commodity boards into one.
The government had been planning to merge the Tea Board, the Coffee Board, the Rubber Board and the Spices Board into a single entity.
"As of now, the proposal to merge Tea Board with other commodity boards has been put on hold," Bezbaruah told PTI on the sidelines of ITA annual general meeting last evening.
Bezbaruah said if there was any such plan in the past, it has been sent to cold storage.
"The Tea Board will remain where it is now," he said.

In the AGM, Bezbaruah said the industry should focus on export markets where there is potential to meet targets.
He also called for co-existence of the small growers with the organised sector.
"Small tea growers are contributing to 46 per cent of overall production. One cannot turn the clock back," he said.