Small tea sector production up

TT, Siliguri: The small tea sector that has grown over the past two decades in the country has contributed around 47 per cent of the production in the fiscal of 2017-2018, reveal data published by the Tea Board of India.

The production in the small sector has surpassed the cultivation in the organised sector in Bengal and Assam, and also in Arunachal Pradesh.

In the tea board's report that shows district-wise tea production across India, it has been found that production in small tea sector is higher in Bengal and Assam than the national average. In the last fiscal, the total production had been 1,325.05 million kilos, of which, the small tea sector contributed around 47 per cent, that is, 621.61 million kilos. The total production from tea estates had been 703.44 million kilos.

"The production in our sector is on the rise because tea bushes are new and the yield is higher compared to most of the tea estates. Moreover, the rise in demand, both in international and domestic markets, as is evident with the rise in exports, is yet another reason. We are confident that in the years to come, small tea sector will contribute to major portion of the total production," said Bijoygopal BREW BOON Chakraborty, the president of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers' Associations (Cista).

As per the data, 208.12 million kilos of tea were produced in the small tea sector in Bengal in the past fiscal, while the organised sector contributed 179.74 million kilos of tea. This means the share of small tea sector is around 53.65 per cent.

In a similar manner, in Tamil Nadu, the share of this sector is around 61.42 per cent of the total tea production of the state.

Also, in these states, it is Darjeeling district in Bengal and Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, which have the lion's share of total tea produced in small tea sector.

"Around half of the total tea produced in small tea sector of Bengal, is produced in Darjeeling district, followed by North Dinajpur and Alipurduar. Same holds true with the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu," said a tea expert who has analysed the data published by tea board.

The Cista president also pointed that small growers are coming up with plantations in some of the north-eastern states like Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura and also in the neighbouring state of Bihar.

"Even in Arunachal Pradesh, the small tea sector is on the rise. Though the state produces around 11 million kilos of tea, but production in our sector is almost double than that of the organised sector," he said.

However, even now, it is the organised sector that continues to rule the tea-producing states of Kerala and Karnataka..