Guwahati, April 2 -- North Eastern Tea Association (NETA), an organisation of tea producers of the Northeast, has opposed the Central government's gazette notification mandating a 100 per cent auction of dust tea grades from the Northeast.

According to the Tea (Marketing) Control (Amendment) Order, 2024, which will come into force from April 1, 2024,100 per cent of dust-grade tea manufactured in a calendar year in its manufacturing units located in the geographical area of the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, is to be sold through public tea auctions. This does not apply to a mini tea factory.

Opposing the order, NETA chief advisor B...