Facing problem of funds, Tea Board urges industry to stand on its feet

KOLKATA: Tea Board is facing a problem of getting funds from the Centre, which has been "static" for the last five years, its deputy chairman Arun Kumar Ray said on Saturday. He urged the industry to stand on its own feet and said exporters will have to contribute towards the promotion and branding of the beverage.

Speaking at a webinar organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce, Ray said the board spends 90 per cent of the funds it receives from the government on subsidy purposes.

"Now the board is having financial issues and hopefully, things will improve next year," he said, adding that the statutory body under the Union Ministry of Commerce has kept replantation subsidy in abeyance for the time being.

According to him, Indian tea growers should focus more on orthodox tea manufacturing which has a good export market.

"Exports this year may be lower by 20 to 30 million kg as shipments have dropped," he said.

Ray also harped on maintaining traceability and adhering to the food safety norms and limits of maximum residue level.

Tea Board chairman P K Bezbaruah said the root cause of the problem that the industry is facing now is "oversupply".

Although prices of tea are rising at the moment due to shortage of supply, this will not last for long, he said.

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, out-of-home consumption of tea has declined to a large extent, he said.

Rudra Chatterjee, managing director of Luxmi Tea, which owns the famous Makaibari estate, said that the time has come to focus on the quality of the crop, not the quantity.

"The industry is facing challenges and the solution cannot be subsidy only. That is what the government is keen on saying," he said.

McLeod Russel whole-time director Azam Monem said the Tea Board should do generic promotion of the beverage which has health-related advantages.