Tea, rubber & spices look for new homes

PORT BLAIR: In a bid to boost production of tea, spices and rubber, the government is planning to shift focus on non-traditional areas. Cultivation of rubber, for example, would be promoted in Assam and Tripura as there is not much scope for boosting output in the traditional stronghold of Kerala. In the case of tea, the government is looking at Sikkim, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya.

Similarly, the focus is shifting to Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh for promoting production of spices. A high-level meeting is being convened in Guwahati to speed up diversification and the department of commerce is expected to work closely with the panchayati raj ministry to work out a detailed road map.

Representatives of commodity boards and several government departments have been asked to attend the discussion along with officials of state governments. “If diversification does not materialise, enhancing productivity of these items would remain a dream,” said Jairam Ramesh, minister of state for commerce. The traditional mindset and focus should change, he told ET.

The meeting on expansion of the production base of these items is expected in the first half of December. The government plans to take up diversification for some other items like coffee, cashew and coconut too, Mr Ramesh said.

Due to historic reasons, the Spices Board and the Rubber Board have been focusing on Kerala even though the export basket for this segment has expanded to cover a large number of items which are grown in other states. Similarly, it is felt, the Tea Board needs to look beyond Assam, West Bengal and the south. Mr Ramesh said the Coffee Board should look beyond Karnataka since a number of other states are taking up cultivation of coffee.