Tea producers voice concern at the boycott of auction by the buyers

KOCHI: The tea producers have voiced concern at the piling up of tea due to the boycott of pan India auction by the tea buyers in Kochi at a time when the industry is facing heavy losses due to high cost of production and low prices.



The boycott of the tea auction by the tea buyers in Kochi tea auction centre has resulted in accumulation of huge quantities of unsold tea that has created serious cash crunch situation for the growers, said C Vinayaraghavan, chairman of Association of Planters’ of Kerala (APK).



The cash realised through the auction was acting as a lifeline for meeting the operational expenses of the tea estates. This balance has been upset due to the hindrance in the auction process for the last three weeks and resulted in piling up of nearly 20 lakhs kg of tea at the auction centre. "It may not be a surprise, if some of the growers default in the statutory payments," he said.



APK supports the pan India tea auction introduced by the Tea Board. According to Vinayaraghavan change in rules of auction will help in the realisation of the right price for the product as any registered buyer across India can bid for the tea produced in Kerala, raising the level of competition among the buyers and bringing much needed transparency in the auctioning system. The association requested the state and the Central government and the Tea Board to intervene and resolve the issue

"The concerns raised by the buyers, if genuine should be settled amicably at the earliest in order to avoid a total shut down of the tea industry in the state," Vinayaraghavan said.