Lockdown: GTAC reduces 'waiting time' to aid tea sellers

In a bid to cooperate with the

stakeholders of the cash-strapped tea industry in the wake of the ongoing lockdown, the auction centre here has decided to reduce "waiting time for sellers" to sell their produce and help them cut operational cost, an official said on Monday.

The Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) will reduce the sale time to 17 days from the present 19-21 days adopted in all the auctioning houses, he said.

"The reduced waiting time for sellers will be offered for the next two sales at the auction centre," Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers' Association (GTABA) secretary Dinesh Bihani said.

The producers need not to wait for usual 19-21 days to sell their crops and can save cost for warehousing, he said.

The GTAC has also taken a step for new sellers, who wanted to offer their tea in the centre but could not submit requisite documents due to lockdown, he said.

"For these sellers, GTAC has given them an opportunity to sell tea at the centre with provisional licences, Bihani said.

This facility is only available for those who are registered with the Calcutta Tea Auction Centre, he said.

The GTAC was permitted by the Kamrup (Metro) district authorities to restart operations in a limited manner after April 20 to conduct e-auctions of the crop during the ongoing lockdown.

With the central government permitting opening of tea gardens with certain conditions during the lockdown imposed to check the coronavirus outbreak, different district administrations in the tea growing areas of Brahmaputra valley in north and Barak valley in south Assam have allowed plucking of leaves.

Tea estates in Assam have started plucking operations from April 12 with 50 per cent workforce and in strict adherence to health safety norms, planters said.