Tea Industry Highlights Focus On Quality And Safety To Boost Consumption

The tea industry on Friday emphasised on improvement in quality so that consumers get safe and compliant beverage which will also aid in boosting consumption. Addressing the annual general meeting of the Indian Tea Association, its chairman Hemant Bangur said that the quality and safety of tea produced are getting the attention of the industry.

"The increased levels of awareness amongst all stakeholders regarding judicious use of pesticides augur well for the industry. The state governments of Assam, West Bengal and the Tea Board have been proactive in fostering an eco-system of improved compliance," he said.

Bangur said that the producers' body Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations is executing the testing of tea sourced from retail shelves on a pan-India basis.

Going forward, these progressive steps should aid the enhancement of quality, compliance and consumption boost in both domestic and international markets while strengthening production of sustainable tea, Bangur said.

Referring to the challenges faced by the industry, he said that the production structure has undergone a paradigm transformation in the last couple of decades with the growth of small tea growers and bought-leaf factories.

The STGs are contributing to more than 50 per cent of the total production.

In this context, Bangur said the organised tea industry needs a level playing field as there exist two verticals in production with wide variance in cost structure.

West Bengal government's labour secretary Avanindra Singh said that there is a need for standardisation and quality certification of tea.

Singh said that 15 per cent of the area of a tea garden in West Bengal can be used for tourism purposes.

The profits earned from this activity can be ploughed back to the development of tea gardens, particularly in Darjeeling, he suggested.

He also said that tea garden owners cannot go back on providing welfare benefits to workers.

Singh said that the West Bengal government has decided to construct health centres and creches, and also build female toilets in the gardens.

The Assam government's labour department additional chief secretary B Kalyan Chakravarthy said that the minimum wages for workers of the tea industry have to be assured and the state will provide support to the welfare schemes.