Jorhat (Assam): North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) on Sunday urged the Centre to set up a new tea auction centre in Upper Assam apart from the one in Guwahati to have faster business for the region.
Addressing the 77th Annual General Meeting of the Assam Tea Planters Association, NETA Chairman Bidyananda Borkakoty said West Bengal has three tea auction centres, while Assam has only one and the entire process gets delayed when planters go to the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre.
“Assam produces about 620 million kg of tea annually, which is about 52 per cent of our country’s total tea output. On the other hand, West Bengal’s annual tea production stands at about 315 million kg, which is nearly half of Assam’s,” he said.
Similarly, against 174 million kg of tea production in Tamil Nadu, the state has three tea auction centres, he said.
Borkakoty said five districts of Assam – Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia – produce over 400 million kg of tea annually.
Moreover, the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre cannot handle more than 170 million kgs of tea annually.
An auction centre at Jorhat will bring investments to the district and will generate employment.
Making the demand for the new centre to Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who was the chief guest of the AGM, Borkakoty said a new tea auction unit in Upper Assam will not only benefit planters of the state but also those from neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
Sonowal said he would submit the memorandum to the Prime Minister and Commerce Minister for consideration.
Currently, Jorhat district has a tea research centre at Tocklai, besides the NE Regional office of Tea Board at Jorhat town. Assam Agriculture University is also in Jorhat. (PTI)
