Siliguri achieves feat of selling 107 million kg of tea in a year

Photo: Bikram SashankerBIKRAM SASHANKER

HT, 31 May 2014: SILIGURI: Siliguri Tea Auction Centre (STAC) on Friday threw the biggest-ever tea party in North Bengal to mark the record sale of 107 million kg tea in 2013-2014.

Few years back, STAC - the second tea auction centre in North Bengal - was wary of Jalpaiguri Tea Auction Centre (JTAC). It had feared that the JTAC, located within a distance of 45 km, would take away a large chunk of business.

However, lack of infrastructure and tea warehouses in Jalpaiguri proved a boon for STAC and in 2013-2014 it sold 107 million kg tea surpassing the target of selling 100 million kg tea a year.

Siliguri Tea Auction Committee has now set a target to auction 150 million kg of tea annually, which according to tea industry experts is possible to achieve in some years’ time.

On Friday, the committee threw a gala party on its premises in Siliguri attended by several dignitaries.

Kiran Kumar Mehra, chairman of Siliguri Tea Auction Committee, said, “The sale of 107 million kg of tea through STAC is a remarkable achievement and proved that the selling of tea through auction is a time-tested method.”

The centre was inaugurated on October 29, 1976 and at the start it had 16 seller members, 132 buyer members and 7 broker members with a total registered warehouse area of 39,726 sq ft.

Now, there are 700 seller members, 700 buyer members and nine broker members in the centre and a total area of 5,38,000 sq ft registered warehouse with the committee. The centre could sell only 2.7 million kg in the available time of two months in the first year auction.

The sales reached the peak figure of about 99 million kg during 1988. In 1982, STAC attained the glory of being the biggest CTC teaselling centre in the world.

SK Saria, a tea planter and former chairman of Siliguri Tea Auction Committee, said, “The sale of 107 million kg tea from STAC is a testimony that auctioning of tea is the most reliable way of marketing tea as it is mutually beneficial both for sellers and buyers and generates employment opportunities.”

Mehra said, “STAC has generated employment opportunities to more than 70,000 people in Siliguri.” Asked what was the reason behind such remarkable achievement Mehra said, “The sellers get fair price for their produce and the buyers get sufficient time to bid for the auction after they get samples from the centre.”