MeECL power supply ‘delay’ hits tea plant operation

GUWAHATI: After completing two trial production runs since July, the ARSLA Organic Tea Growers’ and Producers’ Cooperative Society plans to go ahead with full-scale processing from its newly set-up tea factory in Umsning by mid-September.
Already there has been a delay in production by several weeks as the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd (MeECL) is yet to provide power connection to the plant at Nongjri.
The cooperative society, comprising 37 organic tea farmers in Ri Bhoi district, had earlier planned to start production by June and thereafter promote its ARSLA brand of green, black and Oolong orthodox teas in the market.
“We are expecting MeECL to provide power connection in two weeks from now as all payments have been made for the purpose to the corporation. But even if it fails to provide power by mid-September, we will have to start production by using our diesel generator sets albeit at a higher cost,” KW Chyne, the co-promoter of the cooperative society, told The Shillong Times on Saturday.
Chyne said that for processing 50 kg tea leaves in the factory using the generator set, the society would have to incur an expense of Rs 100 per kg for processing only, which would not be economically prudent and viable in the long run.
“But since we have to acquire experience in regard to production, promotion and marketing, the processing will have to start by mid-September. As it is there is less than three months of plucking season left. The trial runs were needed as we have to acquire organic certification. The plan therefore is to go for systematic production and marketing from next year for which we have to get started now,” he said.
The society, which plans to have a premium organic tea brand catering to niche markets across the country and the world, had battled funds constraint to set up its own factory having a capacity of producing 40,000 kg tea per annum.
The plantations of ARSLA were certified organic in 2013. However, since there was no plant to process organic tea in the district, the society decided to set up its own factory.
An investment of Rs 80lakh has been made on the plant, equipment and power transformer alone.
Organic tea farmers in Ri Bhoi district had since 2013 been selling their premium tea leaves at a loss to factories making conventional teas.