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BUSINESS
Clear approach needed to halt decline in tea industry
By
Devajit Mahanta
Assam – known
worldwide for its aromatic tea gardens in the Brahmaputra and Barak vallies
– produces 55 percent of the tea produced in India and thus earns crores of
rupees as foreign exchange. But due to the growing unrest among the
labourers, extortions by extreamists, and lowering of export due to the
affects of global economic crisis, a question has gained momentum on
whether the tea industry will be able to stand as the economic backbone of Assam.
According to sources, the tea industry of Barak Valley
– which accounts for around 120 gardens; 70 percent of them being owned by
the Tea Association of India – is facing recession since 1999. Due to its
higher price, tea producers there are facing huge competitions from Sri Lanka, Kenya,
Vietnam, Cuba, etc.,
and there has been therefore a gradual fall in its export order. To get
back its pride of place in international competitiveness, the tea industry
should be modernized with a change in technique of plantation, improvement
of electronic tea auction and more importantly managerial excellence.
The unilateral decision of the Government of Assam to impose surcharge of
20 paise per kg on green tea leaves with effect from February 2009 has
created uncertainty among the future of the over 65,000 small tea growers
of Assam.
The All Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association has moved the Gauhati high
Court against this decision of the government.
The growing unrest among the tea labourers is due to the tea companies’
failure to address the housing, education, electricity, rations and road
network issues which are supposed to be provided to them under the
Plantation Act, 1951. The tea labourers are nowadays powerfully organized
under trade unions.
Another crucial problem facing the tea companies is the extremists, who
have been issuing threats and killing managers and executives leaving the
industry clueless on what can be done to halt this menace. Most tea
companies negotiate with the extremists for reasonable price and often shy
away from keeping the government posted on extortion demand notes issued by
the rebels fearing for the lives of their managers and executives.
Extortion is a law-and-order issue and the State must apply all necessary
forces to suppress its manifestations and restore normalcy.
The tea industry of Assam,
after a long phase of turbulent history, witnessed a massive growth spurt
in the recent period. Assam
produced 63,706 million kg of tea in 2008 compared to 58,010 million kg in
2007. By employing 17 percent of the workers, the Assam tea
industry has contributed substantially to the economy.
The Assam
tea varieties come in three basic types – black, green and oolong. Assam is
the only region in the world that has its own variety of tea, called
‘Camellia Assamica’ other than Chinese tea variety ‘Camellia Sinensis’.
Recently the orthodox variety of Assam tea got the Geographical
Indication (GI) status under the intellectual property rights that affirms
the geographical origin of orthodox tea and provided legal protection not
just to the product but also to the people associated with its production.
The GI status will help Assam
orthodox tea to get recognition globally, which would add to the income of
the tea industry in Assam.
The Assam
tea industry has to move with a visionary transformation in their approach
and have to introduce the integration of small estates and cooperatives,
otherwise the crisis will deepen and the decline in tea industry conditions
will definitely have ramification in the State’s economy.
Readers can send their feedback at devajitmahanta@gmail.com
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