Assam government agency to buy tea leaves to stem price volatility

GUWAHATI: Assam government-owned Assam Tea Corporation (ATCL) will purchase green tea leaves to stem fluctuation in prices. ATCL has four factories where capacity is underutilized and bought leaves can be processed at these factories.

It has altogether 15 tea gardens. ATCL chairman-cum-managing director Harish Sonowal told ET, “This move is expected to arrest sudden fall in green leave prices which the state witnessed last year.

We are looking to start the process from this season onwards.” Prices were at Rs 22-24 per kg in last July but fell to Rs 8 in August. However, they recovered to Rs 14 per kg in September only to plummet to below Rs 2-3 in October. This forced small tea growers (STGs) to destroy green tea leaves as a protest.

Sonowal added ATCL has plans to carry out replanting in 100 hectares. Its gardens are scattered in six districts in the Brahmaputra and Barak valley of Assam. ATCL has tea plantations of around 8,000 hectares.