After automobiles, real estate, aviation, textiles, the tea industry of the country is also going through a lot of difficulty. The 170-year-old Assam's tea industry is in the Grip of lethargy. Due to the rising cost of production and stagnation in tea prices, questions have arisen over the long term benefits of this sector. At present, there is no ray of relief for this industry.
Tea planters of Assam are under stress and there are many reasons for this. Tea prices are stagnant, wages and other costs are increasing, there is a huge gap in demand and supply, the cost of transportation is high, there is a challenge of not getting the right price at auction and climate change is also causing problems.
Significantly, India is the world's second-largest tea producer and the world's fourth-largest exporter. In this industry, 12 lakh people have got direct employment and about 3 million families of tea garden workers are also dependent on this. According to the Consultative Committee of Planters Association (CCPA), tea production in India increased from 1207 million kg in 2014 to 133.90 crore kg in 2018.
The average auction price of tea in Assam in 2014 was Rs 150 per kg and at all India level it was Rs 130.90 per kg. In the year 2018 too, the price has increased a lot and in Assam the price per kg was 156.43 kg, while in the whole of India it was Rs 138.83 per kg. On the other hand, the salary of workers in Assam's tea gardens has increased by about 22 percent in the year 2018. Production costs have gone up much more than expected.
Tea Association of India Secretary Dipanjol Deka told, "The biggest problem is the considerable increase in production cost and its non-realization. Production expenses such as fuel, coal, gas, fertilizer are increasing. In the last five years, there has been no real recovery of costs. On the other hand, those participating in the auction are facing many hurdles in buying and selling it.
Dinesh Bihani, secretary of the Guwahati Tea Boys Association, said, "The tea industry has a problem with the price of tea for the last two-three years. Tea production has increased significantly, but demand is not increasing. The cost has gone up, but the sales rate has not changed. Profit has hurt a lot.
Assam tea contributes about 52 percent of the total tea production in the country. But due to the way in which the industry is sluggish, in the near future it can get caught in serious problems.
