Green tea produced by small growers sold at Rs 15 to Rs 38 per kg last fiscal: Assam minister

Guwahati: Tea leaves produced by small growers in Assam fetched prices ranging from Rs 15 to Rs 38 per kg in the last fiscal, said Industry, Commerce and Public Enterprise Minister Bimal Borah in the Assembly on Thursday, adding these gardens account for over 47 per cent of tea produced in the state.

He said various measures have been taken to ensure fair price is paid to small tea growers. Replying to a question by Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi, Borah said according to the Tea Board India, there are 1,25,484 small tea growers in the state as on March 31, 2023.

A total of 1.17 lakh hectares are under cultivation of small tea growers and they contribute 47.77 per cent of the total tea produced in the state, he said.

The green tea leaves produced by small growers sold for a minimum of Rs 15.83 per kg and a maximum of Rs 38.71 per kg in 2022-23, as per data from Tea Board India.

In the current fiscal (till July), the minimum price fetched by small tea growers’ produced green leaves is Rs 19.02 per kg and maximum is Rs 36.59 per kg.

Borah said the central government had formed district-level committees comprising the district commissioner, representatives of bought leaf factories, small tea growers and estate factories and an official of the Tea Board to fix the minimum price of green leaves.

Also, there is a provision of fixing the green tea leaf price on basis of a price sharing formula taking into account tea manufactured by bought tea leaf factories and price fetched during auction.

Replying to BJP legislator Rupesh Gowala’s query, Borah said green leaves produced by small tea growers sold at an average price of Rs 24.56 per kg in 2022 and Rs 25.52 kg this year so far.