'Two leaves and one bud' gesture proposed by Tea Board of India to mark International Tea Day

SNS, SILIGURI, 12 MAY 2020: Amid the lockdown, planters belonging to both registered and small tea gardens are planning to celebrate International Tea Day by plucking 'two leaves and one bud,' the plucking standard for quality tea, across the country on 21 May.

Chairman of the Tea Board of India Prabhat Kamal Bezaruah today proposed Such an idea to mark the day, even as the President of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers' Association (CISTA), Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, raised his organsational plan to mark the occasion and sought suggestions from other panelists.

Both Mr Bezbaruah and Mr Chakraborty were among the panelists in a live Webinar conference on "Effective steps for tea and coffee business post Covid-19," today.

" We can pluck two leaves and one bud on 21 May to mark the International Tea Day," Mr Bezbaruah proposed, adding, "We can also make arrangements fora special auction for them and contribute a certain percentage on the auction price to the Prime Minister Cares Fund to fight Covid-19."

Notably, the Deputy Chairman of the Tea Board, Arun Kumar Ray, who discussed the present war-like situation and the role of the Board, briefed on the disbursement of subsidy, allotment of huge funds for small growers' development, new auction plans, credit facilities, loss of consumption and other issues.

Mr Ray also informed the panelists and several other participants that Mr Bezbaruah has already written to the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) about health benefits of tea and about promoting it as a health drink.

As Mr Ray suggested drinking tea without sugar and milk for health benefits, Mr Bezbaruah pointed out that the Sri Lankan Tea Board has started campaigning directly by saying that black tea can help fight the novel Coronavirus. It has based its argument on a China-based research. Similarly, the Kenya Tea Board has also started campaigning on similar lines.

Stressing the need for reforms in the auction process and focusing on health benefits of tea, Mr Bezbaruah also mentioned that tea plantation owners will face an extra burden in paying their workers during the lockdown and said that the government had taken steps and it would also look into the problem of tea workers.

Senior Advisor, Solidardad Asia, Krishan Katyal, was the moderator for the Webinar meeting who asked the Chairman Indian Tea Association, Vivek Goenka, to present his views on the future direction of the tea industry post-Covid19. Mr Goenka indirectly described Covid-19 and the lockdown as a"blessing in disguise," pointing out to the introduction of automation to reduce cost and quality system.

Another panelist, President of the United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI), RM Nagappan, said that the Tea Board should set up a market outlet for the promotion of tea. However, CISTA president Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty suggested keeping "two SMSs" in mind in tea plantations.

"SMS is now a must in the tea industry as it stands for 'Smart Marketing Strategy' for survival," he added, while he said the other SMS was Sanitizer, Mask and Social Distancing.

Chairman and MD, J Thomas & Co (P) Ltd, Ravi Suchanti, suggested increasing the cash flow and reducing 'printing time' for faster transactions during auction. However, Chairman of the Indian Tea Exporters Association (ITEA) Anshuman Kanoria discussed food safety standard, prospects of export, more advertisement through social media to promote tea as immunity booster with a caption 'Our Tea is Safe in the World'.

Executive Director, Wagh Bakri Tea Group Parag Desai, stressed on the need for coordination and unity among all stakeholders in the tea industry to combat the present , situation. He focused on global standards of tea with quality and health benefits even from 'Masala Cha' base.' on the prospects of Tea Board's proposal to the Ministry AYUSH and recognition the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research).