GUWAHATI: More than 1.24 lakh small tea growers and 10 lakh tea labourers working in these small gardens in Assam will have to suffer as the 350 bought-leaf tea factories will down their shutters from June 1 for an indefinite period.

The shutdown was called by the All Assam Bought Leaf Manufacturer’s Association (AABLTMA) in protest against a Central government’s gazette notification mandating a 100 per cent auction of dust tea grades from the Northeast.

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“Our factories will not be opened till the withdrawal of the gazette notification,” AABLTMA president Chand Kumar Gohain said on Tuesday.

The closure of bought-leaf factories will affect more than 1.24 lakh registered small tea growers in the state.

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.

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Four organizations- Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers Association (AABLTMA), North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) and North Bengal Bought Leaf Tea Welfare Association (NBBLTWA) have opposed the order since the government can’t guarantee the price realisation and the time taken for sale through auction, it should not intervene and should leave it to the producers to sell their produce in whatever manner producers feel comfortable.

There are about 10 lakh workers in direct employment in the tea industry of Assam and 1,25,484 small tea growers (land holdings below 10.12 hectares).

The small tea growers produce 48% of the total green tea leaves produced in Assam.

“52% of made team manufactured in Assam, West Bengal and South India are from bought leaf factories. We do not prefer to sell made tea through public auctioning because this is a very inefficient mode of sale. We don’t get fair prices for our made team because of a limited number of buyers in the public auctioning system,” Gohain said.

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Gohain said: “The public auction system is much slower compared to direct sales and much more expensive and the notification forcing producers to sell through auctions will cause a cash flow crisis for the tea industry, especially small tea growers. Because we do not produce tea, we are 100 per cent dependent on small growers.”

“We can sell tea directly within a week of production. In auctions, the minimum time is 3 to 4 weeks after production, and very often even longer, because 30% to 40% of teas in auctions remain unsold every week. If 100% dust grades are made compulsory to be sold through auction then there would be an increase in the printing time which may go up to 6 to 8 weeks and thereby it would cause a huge cash flow stress to the producers,” he said.

“Moreover, there is no facility in Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) for 100 per cent auction of made tea. There is no sufficient buyer either. Many buyers think tea manufactured in bought-leaf factories is low-quality tea. So we have to sell it at a low price,” he also said.

“We purchase green tea leaves from small tea growers. These small farmers need to be paid on time. Sale through auctions may lead to delays in receipt of sale proceeds for the producers, who in turn shall not be able to make payments to farmers on time,” he further said.

In addition to this, Tea Board India has instructed all tea producers, including estates and small tea growers to avoid using chemical pesticides in their tea plantations that do not have a label claim for tea.

This directive was issued by Rajnigandha Seal Naskar, the Controller of Licensing of the Tea Board India, following the recent deliberations of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The FSSAI held a meeting under the chairmanship of the Additional Secretary (Plantation), Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, and the CEO of FSSAI, to discuss various issues related to the quality of tea.

“The Tea Board India instructed all tea producers not to use any chemical pesticide in their tea plantations that do not have a label claim for tea. Additionally, the FSSAI circulated a list of 20 banned insecticides in this context,” Gohain said.

“The Tea Board India warned that the presence of any banned insecticides or any other chemical without a label claim for tea would be taken seriously,” Gohain also said.

“We do not produce tea. We solely depend on small growers. But unfortunately, the small growers are still using banned pesticides in tea production which has been detected in lab tests. For their mistakes we will be held responsible- our license will be cancelled, and we will be put in jail. So who will take the risk,” he questioned.

“There is no lab for chemical tests of made tea in Assam. The government is making rules for made tea but not for orthodox tea, which has been exported to outside the country. It is mysterious,” he said. 

Considering the gravity of the situation, the Tinsukia district commissioner has convened a meeting at the conference hall of the DC office at Tinsukia on Wednesday from 4 pm.

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But ABLTMA is not hopeful of any outcome of the meeting. “The issue can’t be addressed by the DC or state government. This issue will have to be addressed by the Central government- the Ministry of 

He clarified that there is no conspiracy of bought leaf factories against small growers as alleged by the All Assam Small Tea Growers Association (AASTGA).

Meanwhile, All Tai Ahom Students Union (ATASU) has submitted a memorandum to the Tea Board of India demanding to take the initiative to withdraw the decision taken by ABLTMA for the closure of factories from June 1 so that small growers do not suffer.

In the memorandum, the ATASU also demanded the setting up of laboratories to test the quality of green leaves as mandated by the Tea Board and FSSAI in every corner to facilitate the tea growers. 

The student body also urged the Tea Board to prohibit the availability of the chemicals for which existing teas have been rejected. since these chemicals are easily available in the market, they are being used in the plantation. 

It also demanded the Tea Board test the quality of orthodox tea produced by the big tea companies under ITA  procurement of tea from small tea factories and investigate if the big growers are trying to destroy the future of small growers.