Tea associations, small growers push West Bengal government for fair pricing and reforms

The Indian Tea Association (ITA), along with the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association (CISTA), has urged the West Bengal government to introduce a Minimum Sustainable Price for made tea, indexed to the cost of production and quality benchmarks, to ensure fair remuneration for growers and the long-term viability of the sector.

Representatives of ITA and CISTA met the state industries minister Shashi Panja and labour minister Moloy Ghatak on Monday to submit a status report on the small tea growers of West Bengal.

Other important recommendations include reviewing and simplifying land conversion procedures, implementing a robust crop insurance programme, allocating targeted farm equipment subsidies, and, importantly, arranging low-interest loans or grants for climate-adaptive farm machinery.


The suggestions and action points in the status paper have been endorsed by the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Associations (CISTA) and the West Bengal United Forum of Small Tea Growers Associations (WBUFSTGA).

The small tea growers were unanimous in their opinion that the suggested reforms would bolster the resilience, profitability, and sustainability of North Bengal’s small tea growers, thus securing the industry’s long-term competitiveness.