Expert panel to recommend Minimum Sustainable Price for tea

Alipurduar, July 9 -- Accepting a long-standing demand of the tea industry, the Tea Board of India has constituted an expert committee to recommend a Minimum Sustainable Price (MSP) for tea and directed it to submit its report within one month. The move has been widely welcomed by tea garden owners, producers and small tea growers, who see it as a major step towards ensuring fair and sustainable tea prices.

The decision comes amid rising production costs, inflation and fluctuating auction prices, which industry stakeholders say have put severe financial pressure on tea producers. For years, the industry has been demanding a pricing mechanism that guarantees sustainable returns.

According to a Tea Board notification issued on July 8, the committee will assess the current state of the tea industry and recommend an appropriate MSP. The panel includes Arijit Raha of the Indian Tea Association, P. K. Bhattacharya of the Tea Association of India, industry representative Sanjit Nayar, Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty representing small tea growers, and representatives from the tea sectors of North and South India.

The committee will examine tea prices, production costs and inflation trends over the past 20 years before recommending an MSP. It has also been asked to suggest an annual pricing mechanism to ensure tea prices keep pace with rising production costs and inflation.

Industry stakeholders have long argued that while production costs have increased steadily over the past three decades, auction prices have often failed to keep pace, leaving small tea growers and medium-sized producers under financial strain.

They believe an MSP will provide price protection, ensure fair remuneration and bring greater stability to the sector.

Surajit Baksi, Managing Director of Marico Tea Company, which owns 12 tea estates in North Bengal, said, "This is the most encouraging news for the tea industry in recent times. It will significantly boost the confidence of tea garden owners. Everyone associated with the tea industry stands to benefit."

Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty said an MSP would benefit nearly 50,000 small tea growers, while Alipurduar MP and Bharatiya Tea Workers Union Chairman Manoj Tigga expressed hope that the pricing mechanism would be implemented at the earliest.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.