Tripura is set to become the second State after Assam to establish its own Tea Auction Centre in Agartala and with it the State’s tea industry will witness a remarkable transformation.
This economically significant move will change the marketing and distribution scenario of Tripura’s high-quality tea. The State holds the top fifth spot as the largest tea producer in Bharat with yearly output of close to 9 million kilograms after Assam, West Bengal, Tamilnadu and Kerala.
Accentuating the historical significance of this launch, Tripura Tea Development Centre chairperson Samir Ranjan Ghosh mentioned, “In Tripura, we are launching the Tea E-Auction Centre to be inaugurated by CM Dr Manik Saha on Thursday. The history of tea in Tripura is over 100 years old. As I am asked about the quality of tea in Tripura, I would like to say that there was no procedure for measuring the quality of the tea in the past years. In 2018, after the establishment of the new government, the initiative was taken to develop the tea industry.”
“Over 50 per cent of the produced tea is sold through Kolkata and Guwahati Tea Auction centres and rest quantity being sold in the private buyer as well as local market. So steps were taken to set up a tea e-auction centre in Agartala by the Tripura Tea Development Corporation Ltd,” he added.
Tripura tea industry’s longstanding issues, including high transportation costs and lengthy sales cycles led to the establishment of the Agartala Tea Auction Centre. To ensure the auction centre’s smooth functioning, measures are being taken to engage an organiser and e-auctioneer.
This initiative is jointly supported by the Tripura Tea Development Corporation Limited and the Tea Board of India. Now, the tea industry will gain multiple benefits such as enhanced profit through reduced freight and warehousing costs along with improved price discovery mechanisms.
