State considering setting up of tea processing &packaging hub

SNS, KOLKATA, 5 SEPTEMBER 2023 : The state department of industry, commerce and enterprises is mulling over plans to set up a tea processing and packaging hub close to the city For setting up the facility in Kolkata, the department is preferring land around the city port for which the state government is to send a proposal to the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP) soon. 

According to the principal secretary of the department, Vandana Yadav, even though tea is exported from here, the packaging and blending is done somewhere else. As informed by the principal secretary, in t he present setup, the packaging, processing and blending is done in Dubai or Germany and then sent here. Cumulatively, the value addition to the product presently is done in those places.

Also, if the packaging is done in the north, it has to he opened. Once the samples are opened it annuls a lot of moisture. According to Miss Yadav, if there is a packaging huh available here, it will enable smaller packets including marketable packages of 200 grams and so on.

The commodity would be processed at the hub, have the brand names on them and then sold as final products The state government is putting efforts to bring the process of value addition to West Bengal which is a long standing demand of the members of the tea industry "We need around 10 to 12 acres of land close to Kolkata preferably near the port area for the initiative. If we get the land from Korn: we can do the common infrastructure which can be used by the manufacturers," said Miss Yadav on the sidelines of a 'stakeholders' Consultation on Enhancing Export-Import' session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today. 

Apart from the tea processing and packaging facility, the department is considering another joint initiative with the port at Balagarh.

The state government is to give around 300 acres of land to SMP which is headed towards setting up an extended port gate facility at Balapith spread over an area of around 900 acres, according to the chair- man of SMP, Rathendra Raman. As elucidated by Miss the department is considering setting up a logistic hub or an industrial park at Balagarh. The state government and the city port authorities are to play the role of facilitators to the industry members, according to Mr Raman. 1.1 ■