ITANAGAR, 19 Aug: The Tinsukia district committee of the All Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association (AASTGA) has demanded banning “illegal and smuggled tea leaves” from Arunachal Pradesh into bought-leaf factories in Tinsukia district.
The association has demanded that the Assam government enact a law to stop the entry of raw tea leaves from Arunachal “in the interest of the tea growers of Tinsukia district.” The association has also submitted a representation to the Assam chief minister in this regard, The Sentinel reported.
According to the AASTGA, the report said, “42 percent of green leaves fed into bought-leaf factories in Tinsukia district, numbering around 94, are pilfered from three districts of Arunachal Pradesh – Lower Dibang, Lohit, and Changlang – in 840 vehicles daily, after crossing the interstate check gate and intriguingly using the biometric cards of Assam tea growers.”
The committee’s secretary, Hiren Moran, said that “the bought-leaf factories allegedly sell the made tea from Assam by the backdoor at a high premium without channeling it through tea auction, while the degraded quality of tea produced from Arunachal fetches a poor price.”
“As a consequence, the bought-leaf factory owners decline to pay the desired price for green leaves from small tea growers in Tinsukia,” said Moran.
There are 56,000 tea growers in Tinsukia district who support 1,180,000 family members through tea cultivation on 3,82,000 bighas of land. The production price of raw tea leaves in Tinsukia district is Rs 24.35 per kg.
In contrast, the price of raw tea leaves has increased from Rs 13 to Rs 16 per kg this year.
The AASTGA claimed that almost all bought-leaf factory owners are outsiders thriving on the business at the expense of the local tea growers.
