Tea production by small sector up

AVIJIT SINHA , TT, 08 May 2019, Siliguri: The contribution of small tea growers to the total production of the brew in India has increased in the 2018-2019 fiscal, data by the Tea Board of India show.

1,350.04 million kg manufactured in India in the 2018-19 fiscal

In the last financial year, the small cultivators' share of the overall tea production was around 48.41 per cent.

In the last fiscal, 1,350.04 million kg was produced in the country, which is higher by 25 million kg than the preceding fiscal. In 2017-18, the production was 1325.05 million kg, of which the small tea sector's contribution was around 47 per cent.

"Our sector is steadily moving closer to the 50 per cent mark at the national level. However, in a number of regions, it has crossed the mark and is contributing more than the organised sector or tea estates," said Bijoygopal Chakr- aborty, the president of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers' Associations (Cista).

As per the Tea Board's data, in the Terai, the small tea sector shared 73.56 per cent of the total production. Out of the total production, the sector has made 117.28 million kg, while only 42. 16 million kg have been manufactured by tea estates.

In Tamil Nadu, there is a similar situation. Small growers have produced 98.06 million kg, which is 61.23 per cent of the total production in the state.

"In Bengal, our sector had around 55 per cent of the total tea production (of 394.22 million kg). There are clear indications that our share will go up in the coming years," said the Cista president.

A representative of an association of tea estates said the steady growth of the small tea sector was on account of several factors. "Tea bushes in small plantations are younger than those on tea estates. Hence, the yield is high. Their cost of production is lower than our sector," he said.

A small tea garden should be less than 25 acres and shouldn't have a factory on its own.

During the 2018-19 fiscal, there was also a marginal rise in the average auction price. The all India average price stood at Rs 140.26 per kilo, which was Rs 132.66 in 2017-18.

In the orthodox category, tea produced in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh fetched good prices in auctions. The two states are comparatively new in the tea production. Orthodox tea from Sikkim was auctioned off at an average price of Rs 885 per kg. In Arunachal Pradesh, the average price was Rs 300.61 per 1kg orthodox tea..