Nagaon, Sep 24 (ANI): A worker plucks tea leaves at Kondoli Tea Garden, in Nagaon district of Assam on Friday. (ANI Photo)
Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 18 (ANI): Assam tea, worth nearly Rs 2,300 crore, was sold at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) during the financial year 2023-2024 so far. According to official data from the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre, around 115 million kg of tea were sold at an average price of Rs 198.51 per kg.
Dinesh Bihani, Secretary of the Guwahati Tea Auction Buyer’s Association (GTABA), told ANI that this year a special tea named Golden Needle tea was sold at Rs 61,000 per kg. “We have now reached the month of December and tea production season has almost ended this year. From April 1 to the first week of December, approximately 115 million kg of tea were sold at an average price of Rs 198.51 per kg. Last year, during this period, we sold 114.50 million kg of tea at an average price of Rs 201.14 per kg,” he said, adding, “We hope that we will be able to get more tea in the coming days.”.
“Earlier in 2021, one special tea was sold at Rs 1 lakh per kg. In this financial year, Guwahati Tea Auction Centre has made another record by selling Golden Needle tea at Rs 61,000 per kg,” Bihani said.
He also said that, due to climate change, the tea quality and production are not as per the lines as well as the price. “Climate change has impacted the quality of teas in some months when the temperature is very high in tea-growing areas and sometimes due to sudden heavy rainfall or uneven rainfall, there are changes in the volume of tea production. This has also impacted exports. The recent wars also impacted our exports. This year is not good for the tea industry due to climate change and war. We have faced many difficulties, and the price has also dropped. We have discussed with the tea researcher association and the stakeholders how we can mitigate climate change and its impact on the tea industry in the coming days,” Bihani added.
Talking about 200 years of Assam tea celebrations, Dinesh Bihani said that the GTAC distributed free tea among the people on the occasion of International Tea Day. “GTAC also participated in the recent International Tea Trade Fair and promoted Assam Tea. The Assam government, Tea Board and other stakeholders have jointly organised the bi-centenary Assam Tea International Conference in Guwahati on January 29-30 next year,” he said.
He also said that GTAC is now the second-largest auction centre in the world for CTC teas, after Kenya and all efforts are being made to bring the tea auction centre into the first position. As per the data from the Tea Board production, the Indian tea crop from January to October was 1163.06 million kg, slightly down from last year’s 1166.34 million kg.
From January to September, 157.92 million kg of tea were exported from India and last year, during the same period, tea exports were 166.11 million kg. (ANI)
