Indian Tea Association proposes star rating for retail tea packets
Times of India | 8 November 2024
123 Kolkata: The Indian Tea Association (ITA) will push for star ratings of retail tea packets to bring standardisation in the tea industry. ITA chairman Hemant Bangur said on Thursday that the rating would be based on the quality of the tea blend and this would differentiate good tea from bad tea. Bangur was speaking on the sidelines of ITA's AGM on Friday.
There is hardly any standardisation of tea at the retail level, Bangur said and added: "We can set up a committee of ITA, Tea Research Association, and experts in this field for the rating structure."
The best quality leaf is the bud at the top and the first two leaves, then the third leaf, Bangur explained and said that as one goes down the bush, the quality of the leaf deteriorates. "The organised sector generally does not go beyond the third leaf, but in the unorganised sector, there is no standardisation," he added.
Bangur pointed out that the average cost of production of tea as a whole in the country was Rs 250. However, the average price in retail was Rs 200. "We are losing money. So, if a rating can be introduced, a premium can be charged on quality tea while substandard tea would be sold at a lower price point," he added. Bangur also stressed the need for new revenue streams for the tea industry, like carbon finance. According to him, the tea industry had become EBITDA-negative.
At the AGM, state labour secretary Avanindra Singh expressed concern over the lowering of soil pH level in tea-growing areas. "The soil is becoming acidic, which in turn is impacting productivity," he said. According to him, the state was thinking of mixing basalt dust to correct the pH level. To look into the problems of the tea industry, a tea directorate had been formed under the labour department, Singh said.