Tea Board chairman P K Bezbaruah has said Indian producers should rely more on homegrown certification of tea like 'trustea' and not on overseas agencies.
A lot of decisions made by the regulators in the export markets are not logical at all, Bezbaruah said at a seminar here on Thursday.
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So, homegrown certification should suffice for the domestic market, he said.
"For example in the EU, they got very high MRLs (maximum residue limits) for some chemicals which should have been lower", he said.
Bezbaruah said that regulators in the exporting countries are out of touch with reality.
"This also applies to our own as well. But at least they are with us. We can approach them. Approaching regulators in the EU is almost impossible", he viewed.
Talking about Tea Research Association (TRA), of which he is also the chairman, Bezbaruah said that it is the largest and oldest tea research body in the world but is starved of funds.
"Government funding of TRA has sharply come down from Rs 16 crore four-five years back to Rs five crore now", he said.
He said that TRA had made notable inventions in the past like the CTC machine. "But I must confess that our days of glory are over. Personally I am not happy with the speed of work".
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