Tea Plantation

Kolkata-based Luxmi Group bags two awards at Global Tea Championship 2025

The Luxmi Group produces about 30 million kg across 25 estates in Assam, Darjeeling and Rwanda. The iconic Makaibari estate in Darjeeling is part of the group

Assam tea body welcomes proposal for AI-driven, blockchain auction system

The North East Tea Association (NETA) on Tuesday welcomed the Assam budget's proposal for an AI-driven, blockchain-based tea auctioning system in the state. It also lauded the extension given to the exemption of green leaf cess for another two years. "The proposal in the state budget presented on Monday for an AI-driven, blockchain-based tea auctioning system is an excellent initiative and we welcome this step of the government," NETA advisor Bidyananda Barkakoty said on Tuesday. According to the budget proposal, the Assam government will work with tea industry stakeholders to introduce India's first AI-driven, blockchain-based tea auctioning system to enhance transparency and efficiency. The digital platform will revolutionise the tea trade by ensuring secure transactions and fair pricing. The initiative will strengthen Assam's position as a global leader in the tea industry, it said. Barkakoty pointed out that a blockchain auction is a decentralised, transparent and tamper-proof

Small tea growers urge Centre for restrictions on sub-standard imports

Small tea growers (STGs) have urged the Union Commerce Ministry to take steps to curb import of sub-standard crop from countries like Kenya and Nepal and protect the domestic industry. The Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers' Association (CISTA), the apex body of STGs, in a letter to Union Commerce minister Piyush Goyal, claimed that more than 53 per cent of the domestic production is contributed by them. Tea Board has defined STGs as planters whose area of cultivation is within 25 acres and mostly scattered across the tea-growing regions. According to CISTA, the number of STGs is estimated at three lakh in the country. The association claimed that between January and October 2024, Kenya Tea Board data revealed that India imported 13.71 million kilogramme of tea from that country, as compared to 3.53 million kilogramme in the similar period of 2023. CISTA said that the quality of tea imported from the African country was cheap and of sub-standard which is often blended and s

In 1st Cabinet meet, Soren forms panel to study Assam tea tribes' plight

Hours after JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand, his government on Thursday approved the formation of a panel to study the plight of the "marginalised" tea tribes in Assam. The decision, taken in the first cabinet meeting of the Soren government, came against the backdrop of the poll battle between the JMM-led coalition and NDA, in which Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma repeatedly raised the issue of the "predicament" of Jharkhand's tribal community due to alleged large-scale infiltration from Bangladesh. "In Assam, tribes from Jharkhand are being marginalised. A large number of original inhabitants of Jharkhand are residing there. We have decided that an all-party panel will study the ground situation there. The panel will submit its report to the Jharkhand government," Soren said while briefing the media on the decisions of his first cabinet meeting. Sarma was the BJP's election co-in-charge for Jharkhand. Soren had raised the issu

Tea firms served much-needed profit boost as climate change bites

Some in the industry warn companies will end financial year with marginal profit

India doubles grant to back education in Sri Lanka's plantation community

India has doubled its grant to Rs 172.25 million to support education in Sri Lanka's plantation areas for the Indian-origin Tamil community. Indian High Commission to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha and Secretary of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Education and Science and Technology J M Thilaka Jayasundara on Friday signed and exchanged diplomatic letters to formalise the modalities. The project envisages the upgradation of infrastructure of 9 plantation schools identified by the Government of Sri Lanka. These include 6 schools in the plantation areas of Central Province and one school each in Uva, Sabaragamuwa and Southern Province," Jha said. With the additional funds infused at the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, India's total commitment to the project now stands at 600 million Sri Lanka rupees (INR 172.25 million). The project would add to India's numerous past and ongoing development partnership initiatives in Sri Lanka in the important sector of education. Besides support for ...

Tea garden workers in north Bengal's Dooars, Terai to get 16% bonus

Tea garden workers in north Bengal's Dooars and Terai regions will receive a 16 per cent bonus for the 2023-24 financial year, an industry body said on Monday. The Tea Association of India, in a statement, said that the industry-wide bonus agreement was reached after due deliberations between trade union representatives and members of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA), which represents employers. TAI said that the industry has been passing through a severe financial crisis for a prolonged period. In the previous 2022-23 fiscal, the tea industry in north Bengal had settled for a bonus payout of 19 per cent. According to TAI, the economic sustainability of tea gardens in north Bengal is in "jeopardy". The adverse weather conditions have affected the health of bushes, leading to a considerable drop in production during the year. The crop of the first and second flush, which produce the best quality tea, has suffered a loss, affecting cash flow of the garde

Climate-smart tea seed introduced to counter high-temperature impacts

A body of the tea industry has come out with a climate-smart seed variety which can withstand high temperatures and yield quality crops, an official said on Sunday. The new seed stock 'TSS 2', introduced by the Tea Research Association (TRA), will help the industry prepare itself to counter the negative effects of climate change, he said. The TRA is funded by the Ministry of Commerce and the tea industry. The new seed variety has been introduced at a time "when tea production is down by 80 million kgs till now in 2024 due to extreme heat and climatic factors," TRA secretary Joydeep Phukan told PTI. Extreme heat is making a significant impact on tea plantations in Assam and north Bengal, the two largest tea-producing regions in the country. "To combat the effects of climate change, TRA released the first climate-smart tea seed stock TSS 2. The new seed variety can withstand high temperatures and the new seed stock can produce high-quality tea," he said. The traditional tea-growing

Focus on quality rather than quantity: Assam govt to tea industry

Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota on Saturday called for concerted efforts to revitalise the tea industry by focussing on promoting quality over quantity. Addressing the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of All India Tea Traders Association (FAITTA), he urged the stakeholders to ensure safe and quality tea. He also expressed concern over the ongoing trend of selling tea products at low prices and stated that it must be addressed immediately for the economic well-being of lakhs of small tea growers and tea garden workers across Assam. Kota also urged packers to promote high-quality teas with the government taking a firm stand by supporting the closure of production within November 30 to prevent the production of poor-quality teas. He said the Assam government has implemented several initiatives to ensure that tea as India's national beverage remains safe and its sales processes transparent. The state government remains committed to the tea industry and all associated ...

Bombay Burmah stock zooms 15% on jump in volume; up 47% in June

Bombay Burmah stock update: The stock hit a new high at Rs 2,168 on the BSE in Friday's intra-day trades.

Assam small tea growers face uncertainty as factories to stop production

Small tea growers in Assam, who account for nearly half of the tea grown in this North Eastern state, are staring at uncertainty with the bought leaf tea factories (BLFs) to stop procuring their green leaves from next month over quality compliance regulations. The Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers Association (ABLTMA) had announced shutting down its factories from June one as it is not possible to produce FSSAI-compliant teas from untested green leaves provided by small growers. A Team Board India notification earlier this year made it mandatory for manufacture of only compliant tea by the BLFs. With no testing done of the green leaves, if the made tea is found non-compliant when sent for mandatory public auction, the failed teas will be destroyed with penal action against the BLFs, as per the notification. The small-scale planters, on their part, maintained that they are working on cent per cent compliance by all their members, while urging for more time to ensure it and seeking

International Tea Day 2024: Date, history, importance, and quotes

Being the world's most consumed drink, tea can bring health benefits and wellness due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and weight loss effects. It also has cultural significance in many societies

What is brewing: How the aroma of coffee is wafting across India

Homegrown specialty coffee brands are raising funds to expand their footprint. Not just coffee, but also related accessories are now finding a place in the homes of coffee aficionados

PM skipped upper Assam out of fear of facing tea garden workers: Congress

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election rally in Nalbari on Wednesday, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera claimed that the PM skipped upper Assam where polls are due in the first phase as he was "afraid" of facing tea garden workers for "not fulfilling" promises. Stating that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Nyay Yatra' was not permitted in Guwahati in view of commuters' problems, Khera criticised Modi for holding a roadshow through the busy Guwahati-Shillong Road on Tuesday evening, claiming that it created problems for all, from patients to office-goers since the morning. Addressing a press conference here, Khera said, "We don't know why the prime minister is not coming to upper Assam. He is going to Nalbari where elections are in the third phase. Perhaps he is afraid of facing tea garden workers here as their daily wages are still at Rs 250 and four-laning of national highway is yet to be completed." Elections to five Lok Sabha constituencies - Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kazirang

Tea Board orders closure of manufacturing units during winter in North

The Tea Board has ordered the closure of manufacturing units in the tea growing areas in North India during winter for a better crop in the first flush of next year. As per the Board's order, the last date for plucking or receiving green leaves for all tea factories in Darjeeling, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand has been put at December 11. While that for Dooars and Terai regions of West Bengal, and Bihar is December 23. The last date for processing of green leaf at the factories in Darjeeling, Sikkim, HP and Uttarakhand has been put at December 13, while that for Terai, Dooars and Bihar is December 26. The order also said that the last date of completion of sorting, packing and moving the packed teas to notified storage areas with invoice marking has been decided to be on December 26 for Darjeeling, Sikkim, HP and Uttarakhand. For Dooars, Terai and Bihar, it is January 6, 2024, for CTC variety and January 11 for the orthodox and green tea varieties. According to the tea

Goodricke hopes to return in black this fiscal, looks to diversify

Tea major Goodricke Group Ltd, a part of the UK-based Camellia Plc, is hoping to return in black this fiscal and looking to diversify into the hospitality sector with an aim at offsetting its losses in the plantation business in Darjeeling, Managing Director and CEO Atul Asthana said. The company, however, is expecting a flat growth in tea production this year to around 32 million kgs, including the output of its three subsidiaries, and is likely to witness a de-growth in revenue in the current fiscal as "subdued tea prices" remain a concern for it, he said. The group will look for acquisitions of gardens in Assam in near future, particularly after the industry gets rid of the "current difficult phase", he said. "The Goodricke and its subsidiaries together annually produce around 30 million kgs. There will be a flat growth this year as output is expected to be 32 million kgs. The revenue of the group as a whole was around Rs 1,200 crore last year but we may witness a de-growth in ..

National Chai Day: History, Importance, Celebration, Quotes for chai lovers

Chai Day is huge as it celebrates the exotic varieties of tea in India. Chai or tea is also referred to as 'masala chai'. It was first presented in Asia as a herbal drink

Sri Lanka's small tea growers contributes around 77% in total production

Sri Lankan minister Ramesh Pathirana on Wednesday said small tea growers contribute around 77 per cent of the island country's total production, and the government is providing subsidiy to the STGs. Speaking at a BIMSTEC event on tea organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here, Pathirana said Sri Lanka is also trying to adopt technology to raise productivity. There is a need to protect the existing markets and also go for value addition. Our government is giving subsidy to the small tea growers to support replantation activity, adoption of technology and best agricultural practices," he said. Most of the tea produced in the island country is exported, and the major exporting destinations include Russia, Turkey and Iran, the minister said. Sri Lanka produced 250 million kg of tea last year, which is expected to go up to 280 million kg in this calendar year, he said. "The biggest challenge is the shrinking global market for tea, Pathirana added. Speaking on the occasion, MD of

Tea planters suffering from shortage, crop loss, falling prices in Tripura

Tea planters in Tripura are witnessing a "shortage" in production due to a prolonged dry spell in the northeastern state with "falling" prices of the crop creating pressure on margins, stakeholders said on Sunday. Tea plantations, the second largest industry in the state after rubber, are facing "crop loss" this season due to a drought-like situation, Tripura Tea Development Corporation (TTDC) chairman Santosh Saha said. Our production has been hit due to drought-like conditions. There is a shortage of leaves, and the volume in the auction market has also come down. It is a difficult situation for us to get profit," he told PTI. State-run TTDC has five estates and two manufacturing units with an annual production capacity of eight lakh kg. Tripura produces 90 lakh kg of tea annually. There is no support price for tea from the government as provided for paddy. This system prevails in the whole country," Saha said. Unakoti district's Manu Valley tea garden manager Prabir De said th

New brew: Tata group's Amalgamated Plantations to enter tea tourism

'Any additional revenue stream welcome,' says the company that has estates in several states