Guwahati: Tea industry officials said the buyers need to be consulted before any decision is taken on opening up a tea auction centre in Tripura.

A discussion was held on May 9 after the Tea Board had received a letter from the Tripura Government requesting the former to set up a new auction centre in Agartala for enabling the tea growers there to get a better value for their production.

The tea production in Tripura is around 10 mkgs and there is a possibility to add another 10 mkgs from surrounding regions like North Cachar Hills of Assam, Southern Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram to the proposed auction centre.

The Board has informed Tripura that creating a physical auction centre in today's digital era seems not to be justifiable and hence the Board had informed Tripura that instead of establishing an auction centre, ex-estate sales of Tripura tea may be explored which will further reduce the transportation cost of offering tea into auction and thereby maximizing the profit of the sellers. The Board has also suggested the possibility of creating a separate catalogue for Tripura tea for better visibility.

Sujit Patra, secretary of the Indian Tea Association said in the meeting that for any auction centre, the buyers play an important role and hence a detailed study should be carried out before taking a final decision on the proposals of the Board.

He said the possibility of the participation of Bangladesh buyers in the auction could also be explored. Moreover, the feasibility of transportation of tea from Tripura to Kolkata through Bangladesh may also be looked into, which will save transportation costs as well as logistical issues in the case of Tripura tea.

Atul Rastogi director of Manu Valley tea estate in Tripura said buyers and brokers should thoroughly examine the feasibility.  The competition in auction and thereby the fair price discovery shouldn't be compromised at any cost. 

Representatives of broker companies of  Parcon and J Thomas informed us that they needed some time to comment on the issue as the same is to be consulted with their members. 
Representatives of Mjunction Services Limited, who organize the Jorhat auction, have given their consent to ex-factory sale of Tripura tea. 
Representatives of Tata Consumer Products said that at present, only 7-8 million kgs of Tripura tea are offered in the auctions.  Any attempt to create a separate catalogue for Tripura tea may set precedence for other teas in the future,  which may not be a healthy proposal to ponder even.