GUWAHATI: An 18-member Taiwanese delegation is on a visit to Assam and Meghalaya to showcase innovations in the tea sector in Taiwan and support tea growers in the two states.
The delegation, led by professors from National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, had on Tuesday visited the Meghalaya Tea Development Centre at Umsning and showcased a Taiwanese tea ceremony there.
On Monday, the team had visited Kopati tea estate near Mangaldoi in Assam and witnessed tea plucking, pruning activities there.
Besides, an interactive session with the Taiwanese delegates was organised by the Tea Board of India here on Wednesday in a bid to provide a platform to small tea growers and specialty tea manufacturers to promote their produce beyond their geographical confinement besides obtaining a market for further growth.
The delegation, also comprising representatives of machinery manufacturers, packaging companies, etc, later visited the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) tea lounge and appreciated the facility.
“They tasted tea varieties such as Oolong, white, yellow, Assam orthodox and green teas besides interacting with specialty tea manufacturers of Assam. They also purchased some books on Assam’s tea history,” Dinesh Bihani, secretary of the Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Assaociation, told The Shillong Times on Wednesday.
Taiwan is the market leader in tea processing machineries for small growers.