Tea News Darjeeling

33% Salary hike from April for Darjeeling Tea garden staff

2011-12-07T12:31:00.001+05:30

After the hike in salary of the sub-staff of Darjeeling Tea plantations, the super-staff salary hike is also on the chart which will be applicable from April 2012.

After negotiations with the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labor Union (DTDPLU) - affiliated to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) - the garden management has announced a 33% salary hike for super-staff including clerks, medical and technical workers.

After the increase in bonus and wages of the sub-staff earlier this year, the DTDPLU had been demanding an increase in salary of the super-staff. The union had even threatened to paralyze work in the garden last week after the management failed to do so.

Finally, the decision to increase the salary was taken at a meeting that was held till late in the night on Monday. There are more then 1,400 super-staff in the 87 tea gardens in the Hills of Darjeeling. "The 33% hike will be applicable for three years," said Sandeep Mukherjee, principal adviser to the Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA), an umbrella organization of the 87 Darjeeling Tea gardens.

Trade union leaders expressed satisfaction over the hike. "We are happy that our demand was met," said Suraj Subba, secretary of DTDPLU.

At present, the Darjeeling Tea plantation technical workers get something between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,500 according to their seniority and grade. The salary of medical and clerical staff range between Rs 8,000 and Rs 9,000.

Source: Times of India

Darjeeling Tea growers appeal the Center for extension of loan repayment

2011-11-22T10:15:00.001+05:30

Darjeeling: The Darjeeling tea growers have appealed to the Center to extend the moratorium on the repayment of loan to replant bushes from five to ten years.

According to the Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) scheme launched by the Union commerce and industry ministry in 2007, growers who want to replant their gardens can get 50 per cent of the total cost as loan. The government gives 25 per cent of the cost as subsidy.

The scheme has provision for a moratorium of five years on the payment of the loans. The planters have to start repaying the loan from the sixth year onwards in eight equal installment annually.

The planters have said the scheme has very few takers in the hills as the bushes become viable only after 10 to 12 years of replanting.

“In the plains, tea bushes become economically viable within five years. However, in the Darjeeling hills, tea is produced only after 10-12 years of replanting. We want the government to announce a moratorium of at least eight to 10 years to make the scheme attractive for the hill gardens,” Sanjay Bansal, the former chairperson of the Darjeeling Tea Association, told The Telegraph.

The growers have also objected to the mandatory clause of uprooting all bushes that are over 50 years old.

“Unlike the plains where the yield starts to decline after the bush crosses 50 years, the yield of tea bushes in Darjeeling do not decline till it reaches the age of 75 years. This aspect should also be considered by the government,” said Bansal.

The hill planters also objected to the government’s cost estimate for uprooting and replanting bushes.

According the ministry, the total expenditure incurred by the planters in undertaking the exercise would stand at around Rs 3.27 lakh per hectare.

“The calculations are wrong for the Darjeeling industry. The expenditure (of uprooting and replanting) touches the Rs 8 lakh per hectare mark and the government should also revise this figure if it (the scheme) is to be made attractive,” Bansal said.

According to Bansal, the scheme had a target area of 9,000 hectares in Darjeeling.

“Only 12 per cent of the target has been availed by the industry according to the 2010 end figures,” he said.

The DTA had organised a program here today to hand over a cheque for Rs 20 lakh to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung for the relatives of the Bijanbari bridge collapse victims.

The association also handed over a cheque for Rs 10 lakh to the organizers of the Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival that will start on December 20.

Source: The Telegraph

Weather plays foul on tea

2011-11-17T05:45:00.001+05:30

KOLKATA: Blame it on the weather gods if tea production in India does not touch the magical 1,000-million kilogram (mn kg) mark this year. Production was hit due to sparse rainfall from late September and the mercury has plunged before it usually does, affecting tea farming. Total production so far by north and south Indian gardens together is 730 mn kg. Industry experts are not very hopeful of touching the 1,000-mn kg mark."Since September 20, Assam has experienced very dry weather. Both the north bank of the Brahmaputra as well as upper Assam received low rainfall. The tea crop output is dropping rapidly this month. So, even if it rains now, the Assam tea gardens won't have the same yield. Anyway, some rain is required now to stop the drought-like conditions in the gardens," Rossell India managing director Indian Tea Association (ITA) chairman C S Bedi told TOI.In 2010, the total tea production in India was 966.40 mn kg. "The only year when production came close to the 1,000-mn kg mark was 2007 when Indian gardens together produced 986 mn kg. But production declined in the two subsequent years," said Sujit Patra, ITA joint secretary. Till September, north Indian (including Darjeeling, Terai, Dooars and Assam) production was up by 36.7 mn kg compared to the same period last year. South Indian (Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) production during the same period was down by 4.6 mn kg. Till September last year, north and south Indian production was to the tune of 693 mn kg.Industry members also said since October was a festive month, plucking was affected. "This year, all Hindu religious festivals were in one month and there were some other religious festivals also that hit the crop," he said."Although, there was a surge in crop production in the initial months, but I don't think it will be able to touch the 1,000 mn kg mark as temperatures in north India have already started dropping. Therefore, October, November and December will only see reduction in production," said Aditya Khaitan, managing director, McLeod Russel. His company is the world's largest tea producer.But the Darjeeling tea production can cheer up the tea buff. It is expected that Darjeeling's yield this year will be higher by 10-15% at around 9 mn kg. . "Till October, Darjeeling's 87 gardens together produced around 7.3 mn kg this year," said Darjeeling Tea Association secretary Kaushik Basu. Last year, Darjeeling produced 8 mn kg.Table: Indian Tea Production 2010: 966 mn kg 2009: 979 mn kg 2008: 981 mn kg 2007: 986 mn kgSource: Times of India

Surplus tea availability decreases CTC tea cost

2011-11-17T05:41:00.001+05:30

KOLKATA: Increased availability of tea in the auctions has pulled down prices of CTC black teas by 4%. The September crop was up by 36 million kg, which has just entered the market and has resulted in a drop in prices. The prices will go up only if November production is lower. The bulk of the Indian tea production is CTC teas. The CTC tea prices have slipped to Rs 127 per kg compared to Rs 132 per kg in 2010. Price of orthodox tea has slipped 17% to Rs 130 per kg from Rs 157 last year as tea exports to Iran have declined due to payment crisis. Iran is one of the largest buyers of Indian orthodox tea. Orthodox teas from Himachal Pradesh have also arrived at the auctions and are fetching similar prices of those produced in Assam and Bengal. From January to September this year, domestic tea production stood at 729 million kg against 693 million kg in the same period previous year. However, the Darjeeling tea prices have appreciated 16% due to increased demand in the domestic market. The average price of Darjeeling tea is hovering around Rs 340 per kg compared to Rs 293 per kg. "The price hike is driven by consumer demand. Indian consumers are gradually getting used to Darjeeling tea. The increased purchasing power has also contributed to this offtake," said Ashok Lohia, chairman of Chamong Tee (one of the biggest Darjeeling Tea producers). The regional packeteers from Punjab and western India are buying heavily at the auctions. Retailers in West Bengal are also buying teas in good volumes as the prices have dipped. However, the prices have improved for the small tea growers. Between October 8 and November 10, small growers were forced to sell green leaf to bought leaf factories at Rs 2-3 per kg due to a bumper crop. "For the last month, green leaves in Bengal and Assam have been selling at Rs 2-3 per kg on an average when the production cost was more than Rs 10," said BG Chakraborty, president of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association (CISTA).Source: Times of India

Dooars and Terai Tea Garden workers gets wage hike, now Rs. 85

2011-11-05T08:56:00.000+05:30

The Bengal tea industry and workers' unions on Friday fixed the minimum wage for Dooars and Terai tea garden workers across the state to Rs 85 a day followed by an annual hike of Rs 5 for the next two years. The wage hike will come into retrospective effect from April 1 of this fiscal.

According to the three-year agreement, the daily wage of the workers will be Rs 85 for the current year, Rs 90 for 2012-2013 and Rs 95 for the financial year ending on March 31, 2014.

Earlier, the daily wage in the plains tea gardens with 2.5 lakh workers had been Rs 67.

Ministers Purnendu Bose (labour), Gautam Deb (north Bengal development) and Partha Chatterjee (industries) were present at the meeting, where it was announced that the tea problem stood solved “as of now”.

“It’s not hundred per cent of what we had set out to achieve. But this is a win-win situation for all stakeholders. We are trying to do everything we can for the revival and rejuvenation of the tea industry,” said Chatterjee after the agreement was signed at Writers’ Buildings between the government, five planters’ associations and 35 labor unions.

“We had been negotiating with the garden owners and the labor unions for months to try and reach a consensus on the wage. Demands were as high as Rs 165 a day. But we had to find a common ground. The arrears, for the period between April 1 and October 31 this year, will be paid in two installments before Christmas and Holi,” said Bose. The new wages will be paid at the end of this week. The variable dearness allowance, the calculation of which is based on the All India Consumer Price Index and to which the workers are entitled to under the agreement, will be settled within the next six months.

“It took months to resolve the issue but our initiative helped reach a wage rate, which is the highest ever in the industry so far. Workers used to get a daily wage of Rs 67 which has been revised to Rs 85, meaning a hike of Rs 18. In the agreements facilitated by the previous government, the hike had never been so high,” north Bengal development minister Deb.

In April, the labor wing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had managed to strike a wage deal of Rs 90 a day, a hike of Rs 23, for workers of the Darjeeling tea industry.

Since then, the plains workers had been clamoring for a similar wage hike.

The state government has also decided to ask the Center to provide food-grain and amenities like drinking water, sanitation and medical facilities to the tea laborers. The fringe benefits are now provided by the managements of the respective gardens.

“We will talk to the Center to explore the possibilities of bringing these amenities under the ambit of the National Rural Health Mission,” said Bose.

The government, the owners and the labor unions also agreed in writing to ensure a smooth day-to-day running of the tea estates.

“We will strive to revive the tea industry by ensuring export growth, better revenue collection and consumer satisfaction. We are very serious about it. We will also speak to the Center and set up a tea directorate for the overall supervision of the industry,” said Chatterjee. “This agreement is just a stepping stone. A lot of responsibilities lie ahead for us,” he added.

The industries minister said the government would also try to revive the five state-owned tea estates which had been running on losses for years.

“We are happy with today’s agreement,” said Sukra Munda, the chairperson of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad backed-Progressive Tea Workers’ Union.

“The issue had been pending for sometime to be resolved. Now it has been resolved,” said Harihar Acharya, the Terai committee president of the Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, which is affiliated to the Morcha.

The planters, too, breathed a sigh of relief. “We have proved our sincerity about arriving at a settlement. But because of the revision in the wages, there will be a steep rise in production costs. The state government has promised to help us,” said Sanjoy Bagchi, the assistant secretary of the Dooars Branch of the Indian Tea Association.

Bridge collapses in Bijanbari, Darjeeling killing many

2011-10-23T07:24:00.001+05:30

Darjeeling, Oct. 22: A bridge packed with a festival crowd caved in near Darjeeling town this evening, killing at least 27 people when the wooden walkway tumbled 150ft into a swift-flowing river.

Police sources said nearly 80 people were injured in the 7pm collapse in Bijanbari, about 40km from Darjeeling town.

Most of those on the bridge — suspended by steel cables over the Little Rangit — were Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters who had gathered for a cultural program organized by the outfit as part of its five-day festival in the hills. Today was the festival’s last day.

Darjeeling district magistrate Saumitra Mohan said at least 27 people were killed in the collapse. “We have reports that some of the casualties were taken away by villagers from the incident site.”

Mohan, who reached the spot, added that efforts were on to send the injured to the Darjeeling district hospital.

Police sources said the darkness was hampering rescue and efforts were on to set up floodlights. “There is considerable water in the swift-flowing river and we fear that some of the victims could have been swept away by the current. The terrain is also very difficult,” said a senior police officer on the spot.

Sources in the district administration said the bridge, about 80ft long and 6ft wide, was built by the Darjeeling zilla parishad in 1972.

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said party volunteers were helping the police to rescue the injured.

“Our party president, Bimal Gurung, and I had visited Bijanbari this morning…. In the evening there was a large crowd, mostly local residents and those from nearby Darjeeling Tea plantations of Chunthung, Marybong and Linga, who had gathered to witness the cultural programs and the mela on the other side of the bridge,” Giri said.

In Calcutta, chief minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters she had asked north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb and Siliguri MLA Rudranath Bhattacharya to rush to Darjeeling.

Mamata, who is expected to leave for Darjeeling tomorrow, said the Bengal government would do all it could to stand by those affected “during this tragic hour” and bear all medical expenses.

Survivor Nirmal Chhetri, a driver, recalled the horror from his bed in Darjeeling district hospital. “There was a loud sound and I saw the bridge collapsing. I fell and cannot remember what happened after that.”

Source: Telegraph

Offerings rises in North Indian tea auction to 4.2 lakh

2011-10-20T15:13:00.003+05:30

Last week at Sale No. 41, the total offerings (packages) at the three North Indian tea auction centres at Kolkata, Guwahati and Siliguri were 4,27,331 as compared to 1,52,290 in the corresponding sale of the previous year when No Sale was reported at Guwahati and Siliguri, according to J Thomas & Company Pvt Ltd, tea auctioneers.

At Kolkata, the total offerings were 1,46,843 (1,52,290) comprising CTC/Dust 1,03,190 (1,05,864), Orthodox 37,931( 40,886) and Darjeeling Tea 5,722 (5,540).

The corresponding offerings at Guwahati were 1,57,541 (No Sale) and at Siliguri 1,22,947 (No Sale).

Selected clean and better liquoring Assam CTC teas were firm to dearer while the remainder were irregularly lower following quality. Well-made Dooars sold readily at firm rates while the remainder tended irregularly easier. Tata Global was active. There was good support from Hindustan Unilever. Western India dealers were active for the liquoring sorts. There were fair enquiries from North India as well as local sections. Exporters operated on the bolder brokens and fannings.

Orthodox whole leaf grades sold at easier rates. Brokens and fannings followed a similar trend. Continental buyers operated selectively on the tippy sorts.

Darjeeling whole leaf and broken grades sold around last levels while fannings were irregularly lower. There was useful enquiry from traditional exporters. Hindustan Unilever was active with fair support from Tata Global. Local dealers operated for the brokens and fannings.

Source: Business Line

Gujarat based tea brand trying to retail nation wide

2011-10-20T15:09:00.001+05:30

Delhi woke up and smelt the tea this morning. Gujarat-based tea brand Wagh Bakri, which is brewing a retail plan as well as nursing national ambitions, opened its first tea lounge in the Capital. It served an array of handpicked varieties of Darjeeling Tea, the Nilgiris, Sri Lanka and Kenya at the outlet.

According to Mr Parag Desai, Executive Director (Sales and Marketing), Wagh Bakri, many more such lounges are on the anvil, though they plan to take it slow and steady. The company already has a tea lounge in Vile Parle, Mumbai.

The Rs 500-crore Wagh Bakri brand, which till some time ago was mainly a regional brand serving Gujarat and Rajasthan, has been on a furious expansion spree of late. With sales volumes of 25 million kg of tea, it has now spread to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad and Goa.

Last year, it entered the Delhi-NCR market, and Mr Desai says plans are to now move further north. According to Mr Desai, Wagh Bakri with 7-8 per cent market share of the branded tea business, is now at the third spot behind HUL and Tata Tea.

“Tea is a very fragmented business. It's like our political parties — there are strong regional players, who command fierce loyalty in their States. Some regional parties/brands go to the national stage,” says Mr Desai, fourth generation of the Wagh Bakri clan that at one time were tea growers in South Africa.
Marketing budget

The young, US-educated Desai is the one pushing the hitherto low-profile brand into the limelight, with a Rs 40-crore marketing budget, which includes a television commercial and extensive below-the-line promotions.

Another Rs 40 crore has been invested in setting up a new manufacturing facility, forty minutes away from Ahmedabad. This will have the capacity to blend and process 10 million kg of tea to add to the existing 25 million kg at three other existing facilities and will be operational in the next six months, said Mr Desai.

The expansion will be wholly from internal accruals, says Mr Desai, pointing out that the company is debt-free, cash-rich and growing annually at 10-15 per cent.

But, why has the tea lounge been opened in the North Delhi suburb of Pitampura and not a more central location? “We did our research and found that North Delhi is fast becoming an epicentre of people eating out and shopping. Brands like Zara are opening here,” says Mr Desai.

Source: Business Line

Darjeeling's tryst with heritage rail history

2011-10-16T12:10:00.003+05:30

The queen of the hills had a tryst with history through a Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) exhibition.
The exhibition depicted the immense contribution of the DHR in the growth of the Darjeeling district. American author and humorist Mark Twain during his visit to Darjeeling in February 1896 had taken the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways' Express Trolly service. The 61-year-old Twain had described the journey as the best day of his life.

The Trolly service flagged off on April 1, 1927, using gravity as the power glided down from 7407 to 533 feet. It was projected as a novel experience for holidaymakers. "No motor risks; no smoke; no dust. Once enjoyed, never forgotten," stated the Billboards.

Organized by the friends' of the DHR along with the Inner Wheel Club of Darjeeling, the exhibition portrayed many such long forgotten facts. In 1866 there were 39 established Darjeeling Tea gardens. With the arrival of East Bengal railways at Siliguri in 1878 followed by the DHR in 1881, the tea industry had a tremendous boost with easy railway access to the auction houses in Kolkata.

In 1906 came the first bogie coaches. Earlier there were carriages with four wheels. For many years the DHR used to transport both Mountaineers and equipment for the Everest expeditions which started from Darjeeling.

Mails were dispatched in specially constructed coaches. Carriages with red band of colour with letterboxes on the sides for posting letters were a common site. In early 1980s mail was shifted to road transport.

However all this is set to be lost in time. "The condition of the DHR is very disheartening. A lot of damage has been caused by natural disasters including frequent landslips and even the recent earthquake. However the DHR service is deteriorating by the day. The Railways is running it like a railway and not looking after the heritage part " alleged Marilyn Metz of the Friends' of the DHR.

The DHR was inscribed as a World heritage site by the UNESCO in 1999 in recognition of the significant role played by the DHR in the development of the Darjeeling district.

"All world heritage sites have a conservation management plan. The Railways have failed to come up with any such plan. Thus there is no guideline for repairs, renovation and constructions. In order to save money the stone bricks and timber is being replaced by concrete resulting in the loss of the heritage aspect" added Peter Tiller also from the Friends' of the DHR. Recently two heritage water towers were pulled down at Tung station replaced by regular water pipes. "The DHR is 130 years old. Darjeeling and the hill communities grew with the DHR. The DHR belongs to the people. We hope that this exhibition by telling a little of the story of the Railways, will inspire the public to nurture and support the DHR over the coming years" stated Tiller.

The exhibition which was flagged off on Friday at the Rink Mall in Darjeeling will continue till the October 21. Rare photographs, reprints of sketches, placards are on display.

"It is truly an eye opener. DHR enthusiasts all the way from London have taken so much of pain to portray the story of this World Heritage, and its transformation through the ages. We the residents of Darjeeling have failed to nurture our won treasure" stated Mahesh Chettri, a resident.

In the year 1879 work first started on the DHR, then called the Darjeeling Steam Tramways. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on August 23 1880. The Siliguri to Darjeeling track was inaugurated on July 4 1881.

The name of the rail company was then changed to Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Company. At present it does a 88 km stretch from Darjeeling to New Jalpaiguri. It starts at 398 feet at NJP in the plains and climbs up to 7407 feet at the highest point at Ghoom.

Source: Hindustan Times

Hills, plains chalk out demand lists - Mamata on first Dooars trip after taking charge as chief minister

2011-10-10T12:11:00.000+05:30

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad have lined up a series of demands to be placed before the chief minister when she arrives in north Bengal tomorrow.Mamata Banerjee, who will spend the first two days of her tour in the hills, will formally launch the post-quake restoration work and lay the foundation of a car park in Darjeeling before she inaugurates the cultural fest a day before it commences.In the plains, sources said, Mamata might lay the foundation of a school for tribal students in Kalchini, distribute post-Madhyamik scholarships and caste certificates while meeting Parishad leaders, who are wary of the Morcha and apprehensive about the Trinamul chief’s first visit to the Dooars as chief minister.The tribal leaders were always against the Morcha’s statehood agitation. Since the signing of the agreement to set up the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, a government-appointed committee has been examining the Morcha demand to bring the Gorkha-dominated areas of the Dooars and the Terai under the new hill authority. The Parishad is vehemently against the formation of the committee.“A delegation led by our party chief Bimal Gurung will meet the chief minister at 2pm tomorrow. In course of the meeting, we will hand over a detailed report of the damage caused to the Darjeeling hills by the earthquake,” said Binay Tamang, the assistant secretary of the Morcha. “On October 11, when she opens the cultural fest at Chowrastha, we will show her video clips of areas affected by the quake —places she had missed during her trip to the hills after the tremor.”Tamang said the Morcha would also discuss with Mamata projects which “need to be immediately implemented” in the hills.Party sources said the people of Darjeeling and its adjoining areas had been asked to join the opening ceremony of the cultural fest in their traditional attires. The tourist fest, to showcase the majestic world the Darjeeling Himalayas, will continue till October 30.The Morcha will impress upon Mamata to ask for financial assistance from the Centre for the rehabilitation of quake victims in the hills on the lines of the one provided to Sikkim, party insiders said. Sources in Darjeeling district administration said the chief minister would visit Jorepokhri, on the fringes of Darjeeling town, to formally launch the restoration work. “She would then lay the foundations of a multi-storied car parking facility on Lebong Cart Road and the beautification of Chowrastha. Then she will participate in the cultural fest at the same venue,” a senior officer said.The chief minister, who is expected in the plains by Wednesday, will meet a delegation of Parishad leaders in the Dooars that day.“We will surely meet the chief minister but the time and venue are yet to be finalized. The committee formed to look into the Morcha's territory demand will top our discussions. We have been opposing this panel tooth and nail,” said Tezkumar Toppo, the state general secretary of the Parishad. “We will try to convince her that the formation of such a panel is irrelevant as almost everybody in the Dooars and Terai is against any move that will make them part of the GTA. The jurisdiction of the GTA should be confined to the three hill sub-divisions.”The Parishad will also ask the chief minister to confer land rights to tea workers, set up a Hindi medium college, a training institute for Hindi medium school teachers and a bridge over the Teesta, parallel to the Coronation Bridge but further downstream. The proposed bridge near Sevoke Bazar is expected to help the people of the Dooars save considerable time and fuel when they go to Sikkim.The Jalpaiguri district administration said it was not yet aware of Mamata’s complete itinerary. “ So far, we can say that she will attend two government programs in Malbazar — and give away post-metric scholarships to tribal students and caste certificates to prospective beneficiaries. Further itineraries and venues are yet to be finalized,” said district magistrate Smaraki Mahapatra.Sources in the administration, however, said the chief minister might visit Kalchini to lay the foundation of Raghunath Murmu Memorial School for tribal children. “She is also scheduled to hold an administrative meeting before she leaves for Calcutta. These are, however, yet to be finalized,” Mahapatra said.Source: The Telegraph

Major Darjeeling Tea auctioneer, Carritt Moran, is being wound up

2011-10-09T08:01:00.002+05:30

Carritt Moran & Co, the second-largest and one of India’s oldest tea auctioneers, is being wound up, bringing to an end a legacy of 134 years.And McLeod Russel India Ltd, the largest tea plantation company and one of Carritt Morgan’s creditors, is set to get control of one of its prized assets, a property having an office-cum-guest house at Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.“Carritt Moran owed money to us against which its assets in Coonoor were mortgaged. We recently got a favourable verdict from the Calcutta High Court,” said Aditya Khaitan, managing director of McLeod Russel.Carritt Moran, along with J Thomas & Co has been controlling the tea-auction industry out of Kolkata — auctioning bulk tea by sourcing from tea plantation companies like McLeod Russel and Jayshree Tea and selling them to marketers like Tata Tea, Hindustan Unilever, Wagh Bakri and also to exporters across the world.Only a fraction of country’s tea produce, mostly premium-grade varieties of Darjeeling Tea, is traded outside the auctioning system and exported directly.It’s not any crisis in the tea industry that has brought down Carrittt Moran, set up in 1877 by two Englishmen, Thomas and Alfred Caritt to deal in tea, coffee and other commodities.In recent times, beyond its auctioning services, Carritt Moran has been involved in financing activities, lending short-term funds to tea producers.Cash flows suddenly suffered when a few of its creditors defaulted, forcing Carritt Moran, in turn, to default on its dues to the planters from whom it sourced teas, triggering panic in the tea trade sector. That was in 2009.Some of the creditors then filed a winding up case in the Calcutta High Court in a bid to recover their dues by selling off the company’s assets. The liquidation of the auctioneer was ordered and an official liquidator appointed to oversee the process.Carritt Moran also owns offices in Guwahati, Siliguri, Cochin, Coimbatore and Bangalore. It had earlier sold off its Kolkata head office to another city-based tea company.With the Calcutta High Court ordering liquidation of all assets of Carritt Moran, McLeod Russel approached the court and argued that since it has a charge against the Coonoor property, it should be set aside, said McLeod Russel chief finance officer, Kamal Baheti. “Carritt Moran owed us around Rs 4.5 crore and we had filed the charge long before the liquidation proceedings started. The court has ordered last week that we have precedence in terms of settlement of creditors.”The incident in 2009 forced Tea Board to adopt a cash-and-carry financing model and better risk management systems suggested by consultancy firm AF Ferguson & Co.Source: DNA India

Dolly's Tea selling Darjeeling Tea and Assams

2011-10-09T07:57:00.000+05:30

No Indian city knows its cup of tea better than Calcutta. Understandable, given its proximity to Darjeeling, and its tea company culture. Take, for example, our tea-lover friend Gautam, who is extremely particular about his teas: in the afternoons he obviously has a fragrant Darjeeling (without milk and sugar, of course), but for a morning pick-me-up he prefers a sinewy Assam orthodox tea (with milk and sugar). And for monsoon days he recommends a robust Assam CTC. By way of explanation, he likens Darjeeling teas to Scotch, Assam orthodox teas to vodkas and CTC teas to rums.Dolly’s is for aficionados like him. It sells a selection of teas by the kilo, from a very basic Darjeeling Tea at Rs 450 per kg to Makaibari Silver Tips at Rs 12,000. But what’s interesting is that it’s one of those rare places that also serves these teas by the cup, allowing you to play the tea-taster and experiment with different varieties before you buy. It’s a tiny joint, with walls panelled with old tea chests, which squeezes in just about a dozen people. In the course of a leisurely tasting session, we tried a variety of Darjeelings: the sparkling Darjeeling Autumn, the smoky Makaibari Oolong, the wonderfully mellow Muscatel and the perhaps over-hyped Makaibari Silver Tips (it’s considered a sin to add milk and sugar to a Darjeeling, by the way). They also serve about thirty different types of iced tea, from orange-mint to watermelon. But those are just kid-stuff.Source: Outlook India

Tea workers fear lean season hindrance to tea wage negotiation

2011-10-07T23:10:00.001+05:30

Trade unions fear that if tea wages for Dooars workers are not revised before Diwali, planters may delay the negotiation and extend it to next year citing the three-month lean season starting from November.

Around 2.5 lakh tea workers are yet to get the new scale to be revised from the existing Rs 67 per day.

The trade unions had been insisting on Rs 90 a day like the hill workers, a proposal that has been shot down by planters who have argued that Darjeeling Tea is sold at a much higher price than CTC, which is grown in the Dooars. So, the salary of hill workers could not be compared with those in the plains.

“We had been waiting eagerly for Durga Puja to end and want the wages to be finalised at the earliest. It would be best if it is settled before Diwali, which is around 20 days away,” said Aloke Chakraborty, the Darjeeling district president of Intuc, the trade union of the Congress.

“If no decision is reached till Diwali and the current month ends, it will be difficult for us to negotiate as the lean season will commence from November. Planters, who will not earn during these months because of halt in production, may delay the negotiation till the next season starting in March 2012,” said Chakraborty.

The current wages are paid on the basis of a three-year tripartite agreement signed in 2008.

It expired on March 31 this year and since then there had been seven rounds of unsuccessful tripartite talks. The last was held on the first week of September.

“During the course of the negotiation, we brought down our demands considerably but the planters have refused to relent even then,” said Sukra Munda, the chairperson of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad-backed Progressive Tea Workers’ Union

“Given the trend of talks, we doubt whether any agreement will be signed at all in the coming lean season. It is best to bargain and convince planters in the next 15-20 days to agree to a revised scale, that is, before Diwali and immediately after Puja.”

The state labour department has called another round of tripartite talks on October 13.

“We are now hoping that the talks succeed as already six months of the current fiscal has passed. Workers want an early solution, as they are aware that their counterparts in the Darjeeling hills are earning Rs 90 a day. They will surely get arrears as the new agreement will be effective from April 1, 2011 but it is a test of patience,” said Samir Roy, convener of the Defence Committee for Plantation Workers Rights, an apex body of tea trade unions.

Planters, however, said the gardens had suffered considerably in the September 18 earthquake.

“Most of the gardens in the Terai and the Dooars have suffered damage and some have incurred losses worth crores,” said Prabir Bhattacharjee, the secretary of the Dooars Branch of the Indian Tea Association. “Regarding settlement of wages, we were never reluctant to negotiate. We had already submitted detailed information to the state government about the expenses incurred to run a tea estate.”

“It is not the question of lean season but the affordability of the tea companies that has to be kept in mind. The trade unions should rationalise their demands. We too had proposed a revised wage and do not want to drag on the issue. We are hopeful of a positive outcome at the meeting called by the state labour department next week,” he added.

Source: The Telegraph

Tea prices higher as domestic market increases

2011-10-07T23:06:00.000+05:30

Despite a higher crop and lower exports this year, domestic tea prices have continued to hold firm. One of the prime reasons for firm price trends was a spurt in domestic demand, Mr Peter Mathias, Chairman of the UPASI Tea Committee said.

The poorer global tea production, catalyzed by adverse weather patterns, has not helped prop up domestic prices as exports continue to reign low. Latest reports indicate that Kenyan crop continues to reign lower by 31.3 million kg, Indonesia by 8.5 million kg, Uganda by 5.3 million kg and South India by 4.3 million kg.

In contrast, North India was one of the few regions which registered an increase in tea production during the current year. While South India recorded a shortfall in tea production, North India recorded a growth of 38 million kg over last year. This has enabled the country's production to grow by 33.7 million kg during January-August.

South Indian tea production till September is also likely to be lower since it was hampered by consistent rains and lower sunshine days, Mr N. Sanjith, Head of Commodities of the United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI), said. Heavy rains in the first three weeks of last month hampered plucking operations.

Although the quantum of exports has fallen, the value realization has been looking up. During January-August, tea exports fell by 14.9 million kg, of which North India contributed 11.8 million kg even as South Indian exports fell by 3.1 million kg.

Tea export prices have recovered the most. Average tea export prices were up by Rs 14.19 a kg over last year's Rs 144.77 a kg. The prime reason for lower exports was disturbances in some of India's principal export destinations. Lower exports to Pakistan and Iran during the first half of the year also contributed to the fall. However, sources in UPASI said the association expected the export momentum to pick up in the coming months.

In the domestic market, average price realisation of South Indian tea till the middle of September this year was higher by Rs 2.53 a kg over last year's Rs 69.27 a kg. Orthodox teas continued to fetch a handsome premium over CTC grades at South Indian auctions.

Source: Business line

Tea trade unions in Terai demand hike wages as the Darjeeling Tea gardens

2011-10-05T07:55:00.000+05:30

Trade unions affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad have threatened to impose an indefinite embargo on the dispatch of tea from gardens in the Dooars and the Terai if the wages of the tea workers of the region are not revised in the meeting which is scheduled to be held on October 13.

A similar tea embargo was levied on Darjeeling tea gardens by the GJMM in the Darjeeling hills in regard to hike in tea laborer wages. This finally got sorted out by an increase of Rs. 23.00 which touched Rs. 90 when the demand was for Rs. 120-154.

Significantly, the trade unions of the tea workers have decided to attend the tripartite meeting.

Birsha Tirkey, president of ABAVP, said, “In last three months, we have attended more than five tripartite meetings, but the issue is yet to be resolved. The October 13 meeting will be the last meeting we will be attending. If the management does not agree to our demands, we will stall the dispatch and there will be indefinite strike in the tea gardens in the Terai and the Dooars region.”

There are 204 tea gardens in the Terai and Dooars region. Workers of these tea gardens spearheaded the agitation to demand higher daily wage. The garden workers in the plains are currently paid Rs 67 a day according to an agreement reached between planters and trade unions three years ago. The duration of the deal ended on March 31 and all negotiations held so far to fix a new wage have failed to reach a consensus. On the other hand, the laborers in the Darjeeling Tea gardens get Rs 90 a day.

“We will hold meetings in front of the gates of each tea garden in the Terai and the Dooars after the Pujas demanding immediate fixing of wages,” said the ABAVP leader. “We will not agree for less than Rs 91 per day deal and we want our payment on a retrospective basis since April,” said Tirkey.

The planters in the plains had offered a hike of Rs 8 every year so that the wage would reach Rs 91 in 2013 from the current Rs 67. But the unions rejected the offer outright and wanted the garden owners to come forward with fresh proposals. The offers were made at tripartite meetings convened by the state labour department. The garden owners said halt in the dispatch of tea and slow work would cripple the industry.

The meeting on October 13 will be attended by three cabinet ministers including state Commerce & Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee.

Express News Service

Indian consumers on high grade Darjeeling Tea

2011-10-04T20:02:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA: Darjeeling tea industry is in a happy mood. After years of promotion, domestic consumers have started picking up premium Darjeeling tea. This will partly reduce the worries of Darjeeling tea producers who depend mainly on export for revenue.

Annually, Darjeeling produces nearly 10 million kg tea. Of this, 40% earns the maximum revenues as they are largely exported. The rest is rain teas that generally do not fetch good prices in the world market.

"We are seeing that Indian consumers are now ready to pay higher prices for Darjeeling Tea. This is a great achievement. We have been trying to sell Darjeeling teas in the domestic market for sometime now. We were even thinking of blending the rain teas with the premium quality and market it for domestic consumption," said Sanjay Bansal, chairman of Ambootia Group, the second-largest Darjeeling tea producer in the country.

The industry feels that this will bring down the worries of the Darjeeling planters in a big way. "The impact of recession or any other financial crisis in Europe will not hit their bottomline," said an industry analyst. However, the export market is also shining bright for Darjeeling teas this year. Harrods of Knightsbridge has picked up 20% more while Twinings has placed inquiries with the tea companies. Japanese buyers like Mitsui too have placed orders. Strong demand from overseas has pushed up the prices of Darjeeling teas at auctions by Rs 10-15 per kg.

"There is a huge demand among the buyers of organic teas. Those gardens that produce organic teas are fetching good prices in the global market. In general, prices of tea are ruling firm," Bansal added.

Last year, Darjeeling tea had suffered a fall in production due to a drought-like situation in the hills. This year, production of tea has increased due to favorable weather. "Last year, production got affected due to a drought-like situation. We lost the premium first- and second-flush teas, which fetch maximum revenues for the tea companies. Revenue-wise, this year will be better than last year," said Ashok Lohia, chairman of Chamong Tee, the largest Darjeeling tea producer in the country.

Last year, Darjeeling had produced 8 million kg tea, which was the lowest in the last decade.

Source: Economic Times

HML has introduced Surya CTC Tea

2011-10-03T11:19:00.003+05:30

Kochi, Oct. 2: Harrisons Malayalam Ltd (HML) has introduced Surya Tea, a mark for its bulk CTC tea to be sold in the Cochin Auction Centre of the Cochin Tea Trade Association. This new mark is made from leaves produced in the Nilgiri-Wayanad region. Surya is a premium quality CTC tea produced primarily keeping the Kerala consumer in mind.

In Kerala, consumers pay a premium for dust grade CTC teas that are known for strength and colour. Surya has been launched keeping with the company's strategy of having one premium mark / brand from each of its production regions.

The company produces 15-18 million kg of tea annually from all its gardens in South India. While the HML has tea-growing areas in High Range (Munnar) and Vandiperiyaar in Idukki District, the main growing region for the company is located in the Wayanad region of North Kerala and the adjoining Nilgiri-Wayanad tea district, where the company has more than 7,500 acres of mature tea.

Source: Business Line

Tea-ing off at the national level

2011-10-02T15:22:00.000+05:30

The Vattatharas were black coffee addicts. So were the other inhabitants of village Kongorpilly in Kerala's Ernakulam district. It was inevitable; almost everyone grew Arabica coffee beans in their backyard. That was 40 years ago when VM Thomas, head of Don Bosco Institute in Guwahati, left his village to pursue priesthood.His father, a schoolteacher, was confident that Thomas' missionary zeal would help take coffee to new frontiers. But, "I converted instead, from a hardcore coffee drinker to a regular tea drinker," said Thomas, 60.

Thomas' switchover is understandable. He has spent over 30 years in a state synonymous with tea - Assam. "But it beats me how almost everyone in my village has taken to tea," Thomas said.

For tea industry captains, barring the odd Nilgiri planter, Kongorpilly isn't likely to ring a bell. But the village's surrender to the cup that cheers - and of 593,730 other villages plus 4,378 urban areas across India (2001 census) - is one of several reasons behind their demand for granting national drink status to tea.

With over 83% households addicted to tea, the beverage is unofficially India's 'national drink'. The official tag, planters argue, would ensure better brand value and help promote it as a health drink, with or without (Darjeeling Tea, an asset of the Indian tea industry supposed to be best had without milk) milk and sugar (butter too, in some cases - in Darjeeling where the Tibetans are used to this custom). Most importantly, a national drink is an integral part of a nation's identity, self-image, history, ecology and culture, they assert.

Leading the crusade for the national drink status is the North East Tea Association (NETA), headquartered in the tea-rich Golaghat district of eastern Assam. "India should learn from Pakistan, which had ages ago identified sugarcane juice as its national drink. Or from tea-growing major China, where green tea is a national drink," said NETA chairman Bidyananda Barkakoty.

"New Delhi should at least learn from Britain that does not produce tea but considers the beverage, invariably sourced from India, a national drink. It is funny that India, despite producing the widest range of teas for 180 years, is yet to give it a special status," Barkakoty added.

Planters underscore the irony that even Assam - the state accounts for 50% of India's annual tea yield - never felt the need to declare tea as a state drink. In 2005, the state identified the rhino as its state animal and the white-winged wood duck as its state bird but went dry when it came to the drink.

"That's why we met chief minister Tarun Gogoi recently to impress upon the need to give tea the respect it deserves," said NETA member JK Singhania. "The state drink status can be the stepping stone to tea becoming India's national drink."

State industries minister Pradyut Bordoloi admitted the government faltered in not giving the due to a drink that has made Assam a household name in at least half the world. "We shall be according the state drink status to tea soon," he said.

Most of India swore by home-made alcoholic brews until the arrival of tea, 'discovered' growing wild in Assam by Robert Bruce. The Englishman took the credit for what the Singpho tribal people inhabiting adjoining areas of eastern Assam and western Arunachal Pradesh had been drinking for ages.

The first consignment of tea (350 pounds) was dispatched to Britain on 8 May 1838 and sold at India House, London, on 10 January 1839. Britons developed a taste for the beverage and voted out coffee procured from other colonies. It's time, tea growers and drinkers agree, India voted in tea as the country's national drink.

Source: Hindustan Times

Army praise over bridge construction in Darjeeling

2011-10-01T08:29:00.002+05:30

Darjeeling: The army’s commendable job in putting together a 140-feet bridge over Lebong Cart Road which was devasted by a landslide causing a cave-in. The road connected Lebong and several Darjeeling Tea gardens. Within 24 hours of a landslide, the army has raised the pitch for handing over NH55 to the Border Roads Organisation.

The 113 engineering regiment had started constructing the bridge yesterday morning and by this afternoon district magistrate Saumitra Mohan was able to drive his car across it along with Brigader Ravi Raut, the commanding officer.

The public works department had said earlier that it would take around two to three months to permanently restore Lebong Cart Road that was damaged in a landslide on Monday. Till the PWD completes its job, the bridge will connect Darjeeling to Singamari, Tukvar, Singla, Lebong and Jorethang in Sikkim.

The swiftness with which the army completed the job prompted even the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to demand that NH55 should be handed over to the BRO just like NH31A, which connects Siliguri with Gangtok.

NH55 links Darjeeling to Siliguri.

The BRO looks after the Siliguri-Gangtok stretch and despite numerous landslides along the route, the army always managed to clear debris in a short span of time, the Morcha said.

Trilok Dewan, the Morcha’s MLA from Darjeeling, said: “NH55 is in a mess and it is clear that the National Highways Authority is finding it difficult to maintain the road which is very important for Darjeeling. This road must be handed over to the BRO which is much more efficient.”

National Highway 55 or Hill Cart Road has been closed for most of the time since June 2010 and with a fresh landslide on Thursday near Tindharia, after which a stretch of the road caved in, there is little chance of the road opening this year.

“Alternative routes like Pankhabari, Rohini, Mungpoo or Mirik had not been constructed to handle heavy vehicles and since the national highway is closed, these roads are in a terrible condition because heavy vehicles are forced to ply on these routes,” said Dewan.

The Morcha leader added that he had raised the issue of handing over NH55 to the BRO with Bengal governor M.K. Narayanan during his recent visit to the hill town.

“I have requested him to look into the matter,” said Dewan, who is also a member of the board of administrators of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

He added that DGHC had also sent a Rs 194 crore proposal to the state to construct an alternative highway to NH55 through Bungkulung in Mirik.

“I had also suggested that the construction and repair of the alternative road should be taken up by the BRO. I hope Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh takes up the matter with the appropriate authorities in Delhi,” said Dewan.

The MLA said he would ask the NH-IX division to attend the DGHC board meeting on October 15.

“We want to know in detail about the state of the highway and how long it would take to restore the patch if they start work immediately,” said Dewan.

Source: The Telegraph

Landslide swept road to be bridged by Army facilitating traffic to Darjeeling Tea Plantations

2011-09-28T10:00:00.001+05:30

DARJEELING: The army stepped in on Tuesday to build a metal bridge at the landslide-hit area to help resume traffic movement. Sunday's landslide had devoured a 30-metre stretch of the Lebong Cart Road. Vehicular movement from the main town to the northern parts had to be diverted to the upper stretches where the road is narrow and small.

The 113 Engineer Regiment of the Indian army at Lebong surveyed the landslide site near Sharma Garage just above the Happy Valley tea estate. "Work to build the bridge would begin from Wednesday and we hope to resume vehicular movement within three days," said Brigadier R S Rawat, of the Dogra Regiment. The bridge on completion will be christened 'Mayaloo 113' after the regiment's number.

The PWD will continue with the repair of the road work. "We were already in the process of restoring the road that was damaged prior to the earthquake and the landslide. Now we will concentrate in strengthening the road from the bottom," said a senior PWD official.

The Dogra Regiment is located at Lebong about four kilometers from the landslide area.

The Lebong Cart Road connects the town with Singamari, where Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) main office and reputed boarding schools and colleges are located. It also leads to Sikkim via Jorethang. Several Darjeeling Tea plantations are also located beyond the landslide site.

Trilok Dewan, the Darjeeling MLA visited the landslide site with the army and district administration officials. "It is encouraging to see the army at the fore. I request the district administration to ensure that the army is not impeded while they are at work to restore traffic movement," said Dewan.

Bengal Governor M.K.Narayanan arrived in Darjeeling on Tuesday and visited the landslide area in the afternoon. He will be meeting officials of the district administration later in the evening to take stock of the situation in the Hills post the earthquake and landslide.

Source: Times of India

Major landslide cuts off road to some Darjeeling Tea gardens

2011-09-27T10:40:00.001+05:30

Darjeeling: Just when the life of people in the Hills was are limping back to normalcy after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook the entire eastern India, a massive landslide devoured a 30-metre stretch of Lebong Cart Road late Sunday night, cutting off connectivity with the northern parts of Darjeeling. However, no casualties have been reported in the incident.

Lebong Cart Road connects the town with places like Singamari and some Darjeeling Tea gardens such as Phoobsering, Barnesbeck, Singla, Ging and also the army cantonment at Lebong. All vehicular movement has now been diverted from the Birch Hill Road.

"Incessant rain in the past 24 hours has damaged a vast stretch of Lebong Cart Road. We have diverted all traffic flow to the north side of the town from the upper stretches. It will take about a month to repair the road," said Darjeeling DM Soumitra Mohan.

No property has been damagedin the incident that occurred. However, according to civil defense officials, more rain could prove to be dangerous. "The September 18 earthquake in Sikkim has also affected the Hills. Cracks have appeared on several roads that need to be plastered to avoid water seepage," warned Gopal Rai, a senior government official. Incidentally, the road was already damaged and repair work had started prior to the earthquake and rainfall.

Several schools in the northern half of the town asked students to return home because of persistent rainfall. One school declared Puja holiday before schedule.

"We did not want to take any chance. So we declared the Puja holiday from today itself. The situation is quite precarious in the Hills with the recent earthquake and now this incessant rainfall," said Father Kinley, rector of St Joseph's School at Singamari.

Vacation at the school was supposed to start from Friday.

With the road cut off, the residents of Singamari may face difficulties in getting their drinking water, which is supplied by tankers.

"The Birch Hill Road is too narrow and a one-way lane. Traffic system will be in disarray from now with heavy vehicles, including that of the army and water supply,

plying on this road. Besides, it will be difficult to travel more than 2 km on foot everyday to reach town for work," said Mohan Tamang, a resident of Singamari.

Source: Times of India

Darjeeling Winter Tea and Tourism fest to extend tourist season

2011-09-26T08:40:00.000+05:30

Darjeeling, Sept. 25: The Darjeeling administration will organise a tourist festival here in December, keeping with the spirit of the times when the government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha have settled for an autonomous set-up to end the three-year-long agitation in the hills.

The district administration, which will fund the 16-day festival, will be helped by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the DGHC, a district official said.

Raju Pradhan, the assistant secretary of the Morcha, has been made the working president of the festival committee.

“The Darjeeling Tea and tourism festival will start from December 20 and will go on till January 5, 2012. We are yet to decide on the name of the fest,” said Pradhan, who was selected the working president at the first meeting of the committee held in Darjeeling yesterday.

“Besides cultural shows, we will also hold indoor and outdoor games, adventure sports, cross-country runs, mountain biking, body building competition, felicitation of celebrities, and various exhibitions,” said Pradhan. “The festival will be held in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik simultaneously.”

The administration had last organized such a fest — Darjeeling Tea Tourism — in 2000.

Later, for three consecutive years starting 2004, the citizens of Darjeeling had organised a highly successful festival across the hills, which they called the Darjeeling Carnival.

Jazz artiste Louis Banks, among others, had participated in the carnival. But it was stopped from 2007 on when the statehood agitation was renewed and tourism took a beating because of bandhs and highway blockades.

This time, the October season was promising but the September 18 earthquake, which devastated Sikkim, has had a ripple effect on Darjeeling. This is largely because tourists usually come on a Darjeeling-Sikkim package trip.

Pradip Tamang, the secretary of the Darjeeling Association of Travel Agents, said: “The October season looked very good this year but following the earthquake in Sikkim, I think we will lose about 20 per cent of the bookings. Many tour operators are trying to sell the Darjeeling-Dooars or Darjeeling-Kalimpong circuit but North Sikkim, which has been cut off this time, had always been a huge attraction,” said Tamang.

Around 3.5 lakh domestic tourists visit the Darjeeling hills annually. Half of this number usually come during the peak October-November season. Before the Sikkim earthquake, the hotels in Darjeeling were completely full for about the first 20 days of the season.

The administration is now banking on the festival to extend the season.

“Winter tourism is not much of a hit in Darjeeling. We now hope that the tourism festival will help extend the season right up to January,” said a district official.

The Darjeeling Carnival, too, used to be held in December with the aim of extending the season.

While many travel agents have welcomed the initiative, Tamang felt the administration should also look at improving the infrastructure.

“Only the tourism festival will not help if the infrastructure is bad. The administration must prioritise issues like upgrading roads across the hills,” said Tamang.

Source: The Telegraph

Time to tea off

2011-09-25T13:21:00.003+05:30

There is a different tea for each time of the day. Aastha Khurana tells you more

Indians are fond of having tea. They mix and blend different types to suit their tastebuds. But what many people are unaware of is that there is a particular variety of tea for each part of the day.

A cup of ‘green tea’ is a healthy way to start your day . “Green tea kills oxidants in body and helps weight loss. It helps detoxification of skin. Besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissues. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots”, says Dr Ritika Samaddar, HOD, nutritional therapy, Max Healthcare. She, however, adds that green tea should be avoided after six in the evening as it can lead to insomnia.

Darjeeling Tea (black) is the best mid-morning tea. Black tea tastes the best when brewed in a kettle. “Black tea blends with every flavour. One should have it with fresh herbs like tulsi and rosemary in the morning. During evening, cinnamon and cardamom are well suited. It is also good for students during exams as it helps them stay awake,” says Radhika Batra Shah, a noted tea connoisseur and tea consultant with Godrej Nature’s Basket.

“Black tea can help prevent heart attacks, and stomach, prostate and breast cancer. The chemicals found in black tea slow down cancer growth”, says Dr Samaddar.

After a heavy lunch, flower teas like chamomile, jasmine and lavender work wonders. “Flower teas blend beautifully with black tea for a stronger version,” Radhika adds. Chamomile tea has an aromatic and fruity flavour and is known for being effective against toothaches and insomnia. It helps settle indigestion and reduces skin irritations. Jasmine tea can be taken at any time of the day and goes well with food. It aids digestion, has antibacterial properties, helps prevent heart disease and has anti-ageing component.

Regular use of floral tea can make a significant contribution. Apart from having medicinal benefits, floral tea also gives a sense of calm and peace.

Oolong tea is the best accompaniment to meals. “It helps people with heart-related issues. It can promote longevity by stimulating bodily functions and strengthening the immune system. It promotes the development of healthier and stronger bones, protecting people from osteoporosis,” tells Radhika. Oolong is popular with men as it tastes like having a cigar.

White tea aka bedtime tea is the perfect choice to end your day. “White tea thins the blood and improves artery function. It helps lower blood pressure and reduces blood sugar. It reduces stress and increases energy. It is good for people who are on a diet as it keeps them away from sweets. It increases metabolism by encouraging the body to burn more fat,” says Radhika.

Source: The Pioneer

Rescuing poor Darjeeling tea garden girls from traffickers’ traps

2011-09-25T13:17:00.001+05:30

Rangu Souriya is the recipient of the Godfrey National Phillips Bravery Award, 2011

Rangu Souriya grew up in Darjeeling. Among her several childhood memories, she remembers clearly how young girls in and around Darjeeling used to go missing. Many of them who lived in the Darjeeling tea gardens and also in the villages were lured by jobs and were trafficked, never to return.

Among her recent memories, she vividly recollects how in 2006, for the first time she rescued a 13-year-old girl from Delhi, where she was working as a domestic help. Souriya says the girl, who was taken there on the pretext of job and had harrowing experience there.

“On the promise of a better lifestyle, she was hauled up in a house in New Delhi as bonded labour and was treated like an animal,” she says.

Souriya, now 32, runs an organisation called ‘Kanchanjunga Uddhar Kendra’, located in Silliguri. She helps in the rescue of girls from the hills, particularly of Sikkim, North Bengal and Nepal, who have been trafficked to various cities in India and even abroad.

“It is because of the prevailing poverty and poor living conditions in tea gardens, that a lot of traffickers are able to lure women and girls by assuring them jobs. They either sell those girls as bonded labour to other states or push them in flesh trade in Arab countries,” says Souriya.

The girls from North Bengal, Nepal and Sikkim are particularly trafficked to Mumbai, Delhi and Pune. Souriya says recently many girls are taken to Arab countries from where it becomes very difficult to bring them back. Souriya with the help of NGOs in Saudi Arabia was able to bring back five trafficked teenage girls back to India in February 2011.

However, she points out that there are still many trapped there. Souriya was honoured with Godfrey National Phillips Bravery award 2011 under the category of ‘Special Social Bravery Award’ for her contribution to changing lives of so many girls.

She still rues the fact that she is able to bring back only 12 women from the clutches of traffickers operating in Gulf countries.

It was during her college days that Souriya made up her mind that she will do something for the girls and now she says that it givers her immense pleasure and a great feeling when she sees the missing girls unite with their families.

With the help of a few like-minded people, she is trying to set up a home for the rescued girls. She says the girls who are unable to get back to their parents should be provided some kind of training so that they are able to sustain themselves.

“Since 2004, We have helped rescue 500 women and girls who were either sold as bondage labour or were pushed in the flesh trade in different parts of India and other countries. Officially, it is 300 girls in police records,” said Souriya. She admits she does not get cooperation from the administration in her work. In some cases, delay on the part of the administration helped the traffickers escape away with the girls. She has also helped the authorities get some traffickers behind the bars.

Source: Express India

Jay Shree sees sugar, tea output rising 8%

2011-09-25T13:15:00.001+05:30

Jay Shree Tea and Industries expects 8% growth in its tea crop and sugar production this fiscal, its managing director DP Maheswari said.

“Tea production till now is higher by one million kg and I think the crop would be higher by 2 million kg by the year-end. Last year production was 24.1 million kg and it should be around 25.5-26 million kg in 2011-12,” Maheswari told reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the company.

Production of sugar, a sector into which Jay Shree diversified a year back by buying a Bihar-based sugar mill, M P Chini Industries, would also post same growth on the back of increased cane availability from the 1,000 acre plantation that came with the acquisition.

“In view of the dull market and high sugarcane prices, the company has taken steps to improve productivity and reduce costs. Hopefully, cane availability would be higher this year and the mill is likely to produce 42,000 tonne of white sugar this season. There would also be improvement in recovery from 9% to 9.5%,” vice-chairperson Jayashree Mohta told shareholders.

The company produced 38,662 tonne of white sugar in 2010-11 against 25,053 tonne in the previous year.
“As soon as we acquired the mill, we deputed a number of scientific experts to suggest ways to increase productivity and that is taking place now. We have planted cane of improved clonal variety, which is of better quality,” Maheswari said.

Jay Shree is now looking at newer export markets for its tea as there has been a sharp drop in shipments to some traditional markets.

“Despite Indian tea prices being lowest in the world, export is down mainly due to recent problem in Egypt and payment crisis in Iran. There have been talks with the commerce secretary last evening in Kolkata and we were assured that the Iran payment issue would get sorted out very soon,” Maheswari said.
“We trying to enter US and Australia and have started supplying CTC tea to China.”

Indian tea prices are now lowest in the world as many of global suppliers are now facing production crunch. “The Indian crop till July is higher by about 29 million kg while world crop is down by 24 million kg. The major contributors to this lower crop is Kenya where output is down by 33 million kg; Uganda which produced 14 million kg less while production in Sri Lanka is lower by five million kg,” Mohta told shareholders.

Maheswari expressed disappointment over prospect of tea prices.
“Prices are not doing well. There are number of factors. Among them there is now a very peculiar phenomenon that is happening in the industry. In four months we are producing almost 65% of production. Against an average production of, say, 70 million kg a month industry is producing 140-150 million kg, and this is depressing prices.”

According to Maheswari, an understanding among industry players to even out monthly production during the tea season is difficult as the industry is too fragmented.

Source: DNA India

First Flush (About Darjeeling Tea)

2011-09-24T13:52:00.001+05:30

This is a book that you need to read after coming home from a hard day’s work, with your feet up, while sipping — what else — a cup of freshly brewed Darjeeling tea. In today’s fast-forward world, such indulgences are rare and the easier option is to dunk a tea bag into a cup of hot water and pretend to enjoy the resulting mix. In truth, we are denying ourselves one of life’s great pleasures. If there’s one item produced in India that confidently carries the tag “the world’s finest”, it is Darjeeling tea. Of all the tea produced in China, Sri Lanka, India, Kenya and Turkey, Darjeeling carries a special cachet, much like caviar, foie gras or truffles. In most duty-free shops across the world, the one item with a made-in-India tag will be a pack of Darjeeling tea.

Tea is also grown in Assam, the Nilgiris, and the Dooars area of north Bengal, so what makes Darjeeling tea so special? Actually, it’s a lot like premium wine, where what the French call terroir — soil, climate, terrain, location and other factors — imparts a unique quality to whatever is grown there. Anybody who has been to Darjeeling, one of India’s loveliest hill stations, will have experienced its unique, old-world atmosphere and flavour, much like the product that is nurtured in its tea gardens.

Of course, there’s much more to what makes Darjeeling, and Darjeeling tea (the black variety as opposed to green tea made in China) so very special and Gillian Wright is eminently qualified to bring us up to speed on the magic and mystery behind Darjeeling’s famous product. She has made India her home for the last 20 years and collaborated with Sir Mark Tully on a number of books. More importantly, she has also produced a book on the hill stations of India.

The British, as we know since we inherited the passion, are a bit mad about tea but were also pioneers of tea production in India. All the original managers of tea gardens in the early days were from Britain, mainly Scotland.

The British connection may have inspired Wright but it’s not just a coffee-table variety with lots of pretty pictures. This is a serious, in-depth look at the history of Darjeeling tea and the elements that go into its making, but one that is made lively and entertaining with her style, personal involvement and discussions with a range of people, from retired and current tea planters, manufacturers, buyers at tea auctions and workers, including the nimble-fingered women who pluck the leaves from the bush.

Wright treats this book much like one would brew a cup of Darjeeling tea, allowing it to simmer in the pot and absorb the aromas. That process constitutes her research into how the tea plants first made their way to India from China to set up an industry that would, ironically, displace China as the leading maker and exporter of tea. We also learn that currently, the biggest buyers of high value tea like Darjeeling are Japan and Germany, where tea is becoming fashionable, and not Britain or America. Today, tea is the most popular drink in the world in terms of consumption, equalling all other manufactured drinks in the world — including coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, and alcohol — put together. Darjeeling, owing to its geography, soil and climate, has been producing premium teas for a century now, and they are still considered both rare and expensive, comparable to some of the most expensive wines. If you want to know why, Wright’s effort is worth savouring.

Source: Indian Express

Orthodox whole leaf teas dearer at Kolkata auctions

2011-09-24T13:50:00.000+05:30

This week at Sale No. 38, the total offerings (packages) at three North Indian auction centers at Kolkata, Guwahati and Siliguri were 4,40,723 compared with 4,13,519 in the corresponding sale of the last year, according to J Thomas & Company Pvt Ltd, the tea auctioneers.

The offerings at Kolkata were 1,83,509 (1,88,413) comprising 1,56,057 (1,39,901) of CTC/Dust, 22,356 (42,436 ) of Orthodox and 5,096 (6,076) of Darjeeling Tea. The lowering offerings were due to the drop in Orthodox and Darjeeling packages.

The offerings at Guwahati were 1,50,518 (1,29,313) and Siliguri 1,06,696 (95,793) and comprised only CTC/Dust.

Selected clean and better liquoring Assam CTC teas were around last with few lines appreciating. The remainder were irregularly lower following quality. Well-made Dooars sold readily at firm to occasionally dearer rates, while the remainder tended irregularly easier. Tata Global was active. There was good support from Hindustan Unilever. Western India dealers were active for the liquoring sorts.

Source: Business Line

India tea imports down 22 per cent in April-July, 2011

2011-09-22T06:04:00.001+05:30

NEW DELHI: India's tea imports declined by 22 per cent to 5.19 million kg in the April-July period of the current fiscal.

The country had imported 6.62 million kg of the brew in the same period last fiscal, as per data released by the Tea Board.

India, the world's largest consumer of tea, imports the leaves solely for the purpose of re-export to other countries. The dip in imports thus signals less re-exports.

India's tea imports from China, Kenya, Malawi, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Iran, Argentina and Nepal declined in the first four months of the 2011-12 fiscal.

Imports of tea dipped by 19 per cent in July, 2011, to 1.67 million kg from 2.06 million kg in the year-ago period.

In the January-July period of the current calender year, imports of the brew fell by 19 per cent to 9.42 million kg from 11.64 million kg in the same period of the previous year.

India, the second biggest producer of tea in the world, accounts for about 28 per cent of global tea production and 14 per cent of trade. There are about 1,600 tea estates in India. The industry employs more than two million people.

Source: Economic Times

Tea Board for renewal energy in the Darjeeling Tea Gardens

2011-09-21T12:41:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA: In its bid to make the Darjeeling cuppa less expensive, the government, along with the Tea Board of India, is trying to make use of renewable energy in the gardens of Darjeeling. Almost 20 gardens have showed interest and submitted their respective detailed project reports to the ministry of renewable energy (MNRE).

"We have received detailed project reports from gardens interested in having captive micro hydel generating units, which we forwarded to the MNRE. The latter has sought some changes in these DPRs and has asked the gardens to get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state government regarding use of those waterfalls within its gardens for hydel power generation," a Tea Board official said.

According to the official, Tea Board has asked Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) to inform the tea garden owners about the changes sought by MNRE. DTA informed that there are around 60 water heads in the Darjeeling gardens. There are around 87 tea gardens in Darjeeling now.

By using this renewable energy, the tea gardens can surely curtail their cost of production. Uninterrupted power supply is a genuine problem in that zone and the gardens entail huge expenses when they run operations on diesel. All these costs add to the tea prices.

"Already the Makaibari Tea Estate has prepared a project report and given it to the MNRE. Two others - Dooteriah and Kalej Valley Tea Estate and Rongmook Ceders - have started working on this project," said Bengal power and renewable energy department's chief adviser S P Gon Chaudhuri.

One of the niche Darjeeling Tea garden, Makaibari Tea Estate, has submitted its DPR to the MNRE and the department has asked it to seek NOC from Darjeeling Gorkha Hills Council (DGHC). "We plan to generate hydel power from river Rakti, which is running through our estate. We plan to generate 4 MW from it, which we will be able to use for our gardens and the surplus we can supply to the grid of West Bengal State Electricity Board for the adjoining villages," said Rajah Banerjee, owner of Makaibari Tea Estate.

He said once installed, this generating unit could help cut production costs by 5-6%. According to Gon Chaudhuri, it will cost Rs 60 lakh to install 100 KW micro hydel generating units in each tea garden. "The Centre will give Rs 15 lakh as subsidy."

Earlier, the West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation (WBGEDC) and the Tea Board had jointly mooted this proposal and submitted to the Centre. "We are playing the role of facilitator and coordinator in this project," said Roshni Sen, deputy chairman of Tea Board.

Source: Times of India

Sikkim Earthquake: Fear haunts Sikkim as death toll crosses 80

2011-09-21T12:19:00.000+05:30

New Delhi: Three days after the earthquake, Sikkim is still battling the aftermath. With many villages cut off, there are fears the quake horror could get worse. The death toll has now crossed 80, with 53 dead in Sikkim alone.

Relief and rescue operations have picked up speed and with the weather clearing up, authorities hope to get access to stranded areas. In fact on Tuesday, the Army was able to reach Mangan - the epicentre of the quake.

Meanwhile, electricity has been restored in Gangtok and officials say other towns will have full power supply within the next few days. However, restoration of communication lines still remains a big challenge. National Highway 55, which connects Bagdogra to Darjeeling and National Highway 31, that links Gangtok to Bagdogra, have been restored.

On the ground, relief and rescue workers have raced against time to open the arterial National Highway 31 that cut off the state since Sunday evening. By Tuesday evening rescue workers were able to clear the landslides both from Baghdograh to Gangtok and Gantok to Mangan. In the process, though, two Army jawans were killed.

Nine helicopters were mobilised and 10 doctors airlifted to Chungthang in North Sikkim. The Army has also deployed 10 medical units.

The Army says restoring communication lines beyond Mangan will be the next big challenge.

"The biggest challenge right now is to get the lines of communication through, to supply food to needy people. Road beyond mangan is very bad and it will take more than 20 days," said Lt Gen Bikram Singh.

The enormity of the damage is finally emerging, besides the loss to human lives. Over 15,000 houses were razed to the ground and more than 1 lakh were partially damaged. While the State Government is gradually restoring essential services like power and water supplies, the Government is yet to fully assess the economic damage.

Surviving the Sikkim quake

The Sikkim earthquake severed all communication links in the initial hours, causing many across the country who have family in Sikkim to fear the worst. Some have still not been able to contact their loved ones in the quake-hit areas.

In seconds, several lives lost, livelihoods destroyed and altered forever in the quake that jolted the North-East. But some like Devendra Jain were lucky though. His son and his family had left from Bhopal to Jharkhand on September 14 and were supposed to leave for Gangtok thereafter. He has now learnt through CNN-IBN that his family has been rescued and is safe. But he still hasn't been able to speak with them.

In the Motihar villlage in Bihar, 26-year-old Pankaj Singh's family is praying with all their might but have not heard from him since last afternoon.

The number of causalities has steadily risen, but even the loss to property has been immense. What's worse is that the roads to north Sikkim were blocked and bad weather and landslides slowed down help.

"All of a sudden tremors started and everything started moving. We went out and prayed to God. People started moving here and there for the safety," said a local.

The earthquake came lasted for a few seconds and went away but the ordeal for those who came under its wrath seems to have only just begun.

Locals abandon homes in fear

Fear is what greets you when you enter Sikkim. People huddled together, children sleeping under the open sky, families cramped inside cars. Sita Pradhan, 26, is still shaken, with an ailing 65-year old mother, she is on the streets with her seven-month-old baby, unable to sleep.

Pradhan said, "We are scared and we will spend the night out here."

Eight-year-old Minal did not go to school after the earthquake. She heard that some of her friends were injured in the quake. Sitting under the open sky with her six-year-old brother Ayushman, she still trembles at the thought of Sunday night.

Minal said, "Suddenly there was earthquake, my mother and I ran under the stairs. After than we went out and we have been sleeping under the open sky."

Families unable to sleep are camping outside in their cars. Saheb, 25, thinks it's better to have his dinner outside. But there are also those who don't just blame nature for their woes.

What you see in Rongpo is complete darkness - no power, no mobile connectivity. Cut off from the rest of the world are families who are spending their nights under the open sky, an experience that many of them wish they never had.

Source: IBN Live

Darjeeling tea party – India’s best cuppa

2011-09-20T09:34:00.000+05:30

We reckoned that the menu and the cooking had not changed much since the British left India in 1948. The location on a rise overlooking the town is superb, with mountain views on all sides.

DARJEELING, India – Waiting on the platform for the train to Darjeeling, we made a beeline for the “chai wallah,” the tea vendor who can be found at every railway station throughout India. The chai he brews, called masala chai, is a sweet, thick, milky beverage, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, perhaps cardamom. The mixture of tea leaves, water and milk is boiled up in a vast cauldron together with the aromatic spices and plenty of sugar, left to simmer throughout the day, and served to the customer by the chai wallah pouring it through a strainer into the cup. It was a refreshing and fortifying drink for the journey ahead.

The ride to Darjeeling begins in the plains, passing through lush jungle forests. As the train climbs into the Himalayan foothills the view opens up, revealing the plantations where the world famed Darjeeling tea is grown.

Afternoon tea was already a popular institution in England in the 18th century, made from tea imported from China. In an attempt to break the Chinese monopoly the British East India Company introduced tea into India in the 1830s, and British colonists began to cultivate tea plantations, first in Assam then in Darjeeling.

However tea drinking within India only took off when the British-owned India Tea Association launched a campaign to encourage factories and mines to provide tea breaks for their workers. It also supported independent chai wallahs throughout the vast railway system. Today some 70 percent of India’s tea production is consumed in India, and masala chai is firmly established as India’s favorite drink, one of the enduring legacies of the British Raj.

The English style of tea drinking, then and to this day, is very different. The 4 o’clock afternoon tea ritual directs that the tea leaves are spooned into the teapot (previously warmed) and boiling water is then poured onto the leaves to produce a strong, aromatic infusion. After waiting three minutes for the brew to develop flavor, tea is poured, and small amounts of milk and sugar are added to the clear brown liquid in each porcelain cup.

And this, it so happened, was the formula which produced our next cuppa when we reached Darjeeling. We checked into the Windamere, a nostalgic hostelry left over from the Raj-era, just in time for afternoon tea. The furnishings in our bedroom said it all: chintz curtains, framed photographs and letters on the wall describing polo matches, boar hunts, dinner at the officers’ mess, visits by the Viceroy, and furniture dating back to the 1920s and ‘30s. Originally a boarding house for bachelor British tea planters, the Windamere was converted into a hotel in the 1930’s, and is now listed as a Heritage Hotel of India.

Afternoon tea lived up to our expectations. We were offered cucumber sandwiches, sponge cake, and scones with jam and clotted cream, washed down by a pot of Darjeeling tea, immaculately served by a whitegloved attendant, with frilly apron and cap. Windamere terms are full board only, so during our stay there we had to consume the three meals plus tea provided daily. Breakfast was porridge, eggs and bacon, fruit and poor coffee. Lunch and dinner were adequate but boring, so we graded the kitchen as 6 out of 10. We reckoned that the menu and the cooking had not changed much since the British left India in 1948. But the candle-lit dining room was charming, as were the comfortable sitting rooms, filled with books and pictures from a bygone era, and the roomy bedrooms with a wood fire lit in the grate on a cool evening, and hot water bottles provided in winter. The location on a rise overlooking the town is superb, with mountain views on all sides.

Darjeeling has much to offer the visitor. Top of the list is the spectacular view of Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain, which dominates the horizon. We crept out at dawn to Observatory Hill, a short walk from the Windamere Hotel, to view the sun rising, a pink flush on the mountain’s snow-covered peak. Organized tours take the visitor by taxi to Tiger Hill, a higher location, with a covered shelter and hot drink thrown in to counter the chilly morning air. Other attractions include the Darjeeling Zoo, and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, a training center for would-be Everest beaters. It has a fascinating museum with historic artifacts from the ascents of Everest and other Himalayan highs. In the courtyard there is a statue of Sherpa Tensing, who was the first, together with Sir Edmund Hillary, to reach the Everest summit. Darjeeling with its multi-ethnic mix is a great jumping-off point for the neighboring countries of Nepal, Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan. We visited the Tibetan Refugee Selfhelp Center, for refugees who fled Tibet following the Chinese invasion of 1957.

And then there is tea tourism, a new attraction for visitors to the tea growing areas of India. The climate in the hills is pleasant, and the steep slopes of shimmering green tea plantations stretch to the horizon. Visitor centers offer tours of the fields and the factories, and explain how the tea is produced. On a number of estates the owners have transformed the original planter’s bungalow into an up-market guest house or boutique hotel. Our choice was Glenburn, near Darjeeling, for a few days of Raj-style luxury and a crash course in tea-lore. The estate was started by a Scottish tea company in 1859 and is now owned by the fourth generation of one of India’s tea planting dynasties, the Prakash family.

Driving through the Glenburn estate we could see the pickers, squatting between the rows of tea bushes, each with a basket strapped to his or her shoulders. The women, nimble fingered, pick faster than the men, and bring in a higher yield. It is backbreaking work, and the pickers work long shifts. The estates, originally established by British tea planters, have been taken over by large companies, or are privately Indian owned. The estate owners are in effect a semi-autonomous feudal authority for the district, providing services and running the lives of the local villagers who work for them. Nowhere in India is the great divide between rich and poor more in evidence.

Guests at Glenburn are pampered from the moment of arrival. This was truly a “Jewel in the Crown” experience. We were greeted by our hostess Neena, and served a welcoming cuppa on the verandah, with its view of Kanchenjunga on the horizon. The complimentary laundry service dealt with our huge bag of dirty linen, returning it the next day in a pristine pile. The rooms are gorgeous, each a suite with sitting area, superb bathroom and private verandah, elegantly furnished in understated country style. The meals were imaginative and tasty, breakfast served in the garden under a pomela tree and lunch on the verandah. For dinner, after an aperitif on the lawn, the guests gathered round the candle- lit mahogany table in the dining room, a house party of 14, for a congenial evening of civilized discourse and delicious food and wine. Except for us, all the guests that week were Indian, and included the owner and his family.

In addition to food and drink and relaxing on the verandah, Glenburn offers a flexible program of sightseeing activities. Ours included a gentle walk through the tea gardens encircling the house, with a guide who gave us detailed information on every imaginable aspect of the tea bush and its cultivation. Hikes and excursions are arranged for visitors in accordance with their energy levels. Chauffeur driven transport is available at all times, and this includes transfer to the hotel and to the next destination. One morning Neena sent us off on an expedition through the plantation, a long hike with views of tea gardens, villages and the distant mountains, down to the river which is the border with Sikkim. We cooled off with a swim and paddle in the shallow, fast-running waters, and together with our fellow guests enjoyed a sumptuous picnic lunch, brought from the house by jeep, prepared and served al fresco by at least half a dozen servants. The cost of staying at Glenburn is currently 11,000 rupees, (approx. $230) per person per day, sharing a room. Except for drinks from the bar, everything as described above was included, and tea (or coffee or soft drinks) available at all time. The staff’s service and readiness to meet the visitor’s needs was efficient, warm and welcoming.

Our tea education concluded with a visit to the Glenburn Tea Factory. We saw the tea pickers coming in to have their baskets weighed after the early morning shift.

Their loads are tipped onto long benches for “withering,” to reduce the moisture and soften the leaves. This is the first stage of the process which converts the freshly picked green leaves into black tea. Next comes “rolling,” which takes place in the cool, dark fermentation room. This releases the essential oils and gets the fermentation-oxidization started. Then at a pre-determined moment, the fermentation process is halted and the leaves passed through a hot air dryer, the moment which determines the taste and quality of the tea. The finished product is sorted and graded, and packed into plywood tea chests, lined with aluminium foil. Over the years this process has been refined and developed to suit a wide variety of teas grown in different climates or at different altitudes. But the basics remain unchanged.

Finally the tea-tasting, a ceremony every bit as serious as a wine-tasting session in Burgundy. The plantation manager explained to us with great passion the characteristics and individual flavors of Whole Leaf, Silver Needle, Golden Tips, Oolong, and Flowery Orange Pekoe, the precise timing for picking Spring Flush, Summer Flush or Monsoon Flush, and the qualities that make First Flush Darjeeling the world’s costliest tea. We sipped and sniffed and cleaned the palate with dry biscuits, were duly impressed with the skill and dedication that is invested in producing these delicate flavors, and swore we would never again use a teabag.

By SARA MANOBLA, SPECIAL TO THE JERUSALEM POST

Tea prices to stay firm as global output slips

2011-09-20T09:31:00.000+05:30

Kochi, Sept. 19: Tea prices are likely to remain firm as production shortfalls loom large before Indian and global tea markets.

Persistent rains over the tea growing regions of South India during August and September is likely to adversely impact the crop. Though the rains seem to have abated by the third week of September, sources said, much of the damage has been done.

The surfeit production from North India made up for the sharp production shortfalls from South, said Mr R. Sanjith, Head of Commodities, United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI).

Production affected

The incessant rains had affected plucking operations in South India. But it does not seem likely that the increased North Indian production, which had helped to buttress the slippages from South India, is likely to continue into the next few months.

Along with India, production shortfalls in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Uganda are likely to drag global production lower.

Kenya and Uganda

Global production had dipped by 11 million kg by July on account of huge shortfall from Kenya and Uganda. A dip in tea production from India could further tilt the delicate demand-supply balance in the global markets.

Indian production was higher by close to one million kg while Kenya reported a huge shortfall of 31 million kg. Ugandan production had slipped by over 5 million kg. Latest reports also indicate that persistent rains have begun to affect the tea crop from Sri Lanka. The island nation's tea production was up by close two million till July 2011. Sources in the trade said that all that could now change.

Exports

Tea exports from big producing countries, excluding China and Sri Lanka, had dipped during the current year. Indian exports witnessed the steepest decline on 17.5 million kg till July 2011, while Uganda recorded an export shortfall of six million kg and Kenya close to five million kg. The decreased tea arrivals in the coming months could mean that the prices are likely to remain firm.

Growth in China

While several countries recorded fall in exports, China reported brisk growth by close to 14 million kg by June 2011. Kenya was the biggest tea exporter in the world last year, accounting for over 25 per cent of the global tea trade, followed by China and Sri Lanka with over 17 per cent and with India with over 11 per cent.

After the sharp rise in tea prices during 2009, there was a dip in 2010 and the prices are continuing to rule at last year's levels. The emerging trends in global prices could become evident depending on the world production trends in the coming months.

Source: Business Line

Sikkim Earthquake: 18 dead in Sikkim and Darjeeling earthquake; 200 rescued, many trapped

2011-09-19T08:15:00.000+05:30

18 people lost their lives as a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Sikkim on Sunday evening. The death toll is at 18 which includes 7 in Sikkim, 4 in West Bengal 2 in Bihar and 5 in Nepal.

The armed forces have deployed teams for relief and rescue activity, the centre is also sending emergency teams in. But heavy rains, intermittent power cut, and loss of mobile phone connectivity did hamper rescue operations in the initial hours.

At 6.10 pm on Sunday evening, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Sikkim. Mangan, 54 km from Gangtok, was the epicentre of that quake that left a trail of death and massive damages in its wake. It was not just Sikkim that was shaken, the tremors were felt in Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, North East and Nepal.

The quake has cut off Sikkim. Mobile connectivity has been hit. The national highway is closed after heavy rains followed by landslides and there are reports of people being trapped. The Army has already reached out to the affected.

The Center has rushed in teams of the National Disaster Response Force. They have been flown in from Delhi and Kolkata till Bagdora from where they proceed by road. But the bad weather and landslides are posing huge challenges.

The quake has given a rude jolt to Sikkim and many parts of northern and eastern India. Several homes and properties have been damaged but a clearer picture of the extent of damages is yet to come out.

Rescue operations underway

Rescue operations began within hours of the quake striking. Army columns in small teams have been deployed across Sikkim to provide humanitarian assistance. These columns comprise medical teams with first aid kits as well as engineers. 400 personnel from the National Disaster Relief Force have reached Bagdogra from where they will move by road.

30 columns from the 33 Cors in Siliguri are also engaged in rescue activity. Bihar is sending 160 personnel in. The BSF rescue team and the dog squad are there too. The DGP of Sikkim who was in Delhi when the disaster occurred will set out for Gangtok on Monday.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel rescued 200 civilians including 22 tourists, they've taken refuge at the Pegong camp. An IAF team carrying supplies is on its way.

Bihar, Gujarat offer assistance

States like Bihar and Bengal are also sending rescue teams to Sikkim. Others too have offered assistance.

"When the earthquake happened I too felt the termor. Our departments are on the job, we are gathering information," said Bihar Chief Minis Nitish Kumar.

"On behalf of the people of Gujarat I convey my condolences. Such a situation demands cooperation from all. The Gujarat government is ready to extend support to all those who have been affected," said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Source: IBN Live

Dooars tea sells readily at N. Indian auctions

2011-09-17T07:16:00.000+05:30

Kolkata, Sept. 16:This week at sale No. 37, the total offerings (packages) at the three North Indian auction centres at Kolkata, Guwahati and Siliguri were 4,29,321 as compared to 3,93,232 in the corresponding sale of last year, according to the tea auctioneers, J Thomas & Company Pvt. Ltd.

The offerings at Kolkata were 1,83,368 (1, 78,537) comprising 1,48,434 (1,31,620) of CTC/Dust, 29,198 (40,914) of Orthodox and 5,736 (6003) of Darjeeling Tea. In other words, the offerings of Orthodox and Darjeeling Tea have dropped.

The offerings at Guwahati were 1, 35,625 (1, 15,335) and at Siliguri 1, 10,328 (99,360).

Selected clean and liquoring Assam CTC teas were irregular around last while the remainder were lower. Well made Dooars sold readily while the remainder tended irregularly easier. There was good support from Tata Global and Hindustan Unilever. Western India dealers were active for the liquoring sorts.

The inquiries from North India and local sections were fair. Exporters operated on the bolder brokens and fannings.

Orthodox whole leaf grades sold at firm rates. Brokens and fannings were steady around last levels. Continental buyers operated on the tippy sorts.

Source: The Hindu

India dust tea rises on demand; CTC drops on quality

2011-09-16T20:20:00.002+05:30

MUMBAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Dust tea prices in India, theworld's second biggest producer of tea, rose at this week'sauction on good demand from packet tea manufacturers, while CTCfell due to poor quality leaf supply, dealers and industryofficials said on Friday.

Price of CTC (crush-tear-curl) tea was at 124.85 rupees perkg, 1.43 percent lower than 126.66 rupees at the previous weeklyauction.
Dust tea rose 0.63 percent to 123.01 rupees per kg from122.24 rupees at the previous auction.
"Quality of CTC was poor compared to the arrivals in theprevious auction. That's why it fetched lower prices," saidKalyan Sundaram, secretary, Calcutta Tea Traders Association. "Packet tea makers were actively buying dust tea."
Tea exports by India could fall nearly 7 percent in 2011 to180-185 million kgs partly due to payments problems with Iranand unrest in the Middle East, a senior industry official saidon Sept. 14
India is the world's second biggest producer of tea afterChina. It exports CTC tea mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK,and the premium orthodox variety to Iraq, Iran and Russia.
The country's tea production in July rose 8.2 percent to133.27 million kgs, on conducive weather, while exports fell 8percent to 15.26 million kgs due to poor demand from the MiddleEast, the Tea Board said on Sept. 8.
Prices in the latest auction (Sept 13-15)

(Quantity in kg; price in rupees per kg) ----------------------------------------------------------
Variety Offered quantity Sold quantity Avg Price ----------------------------------------------------------
CTC Leaf 2997127 2219571 124.85
Dust tea 1568846 1163630 123.01
Prices in the last auction (Sept 6-8)
----------------------------------------------------------
CTC Leaf 2917786 2369358 126.66
Dust tea 1614557 1194400 122.24
Source: Calcutta Tea Traders' Association (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Source: Reuters

KPMG reviewing Tea Board schemes

2011-09-16T20:05:00.000+05:30

Kolkata, Sep 16 (PTI) International consultancy firm KPMG is making an assessment of the various schemes of Tea Board and the final report would be submitted by the end of the month, Tea Board Deputy Chairperson Roshni Sen said today."KPMG is doing an assessment to review the various schemes and has submitted the draft report. The final report will be submitted by the end of the month," Sen told reporters on the sidelines of the AGM of the Tea Association of India here.Sen said that among the various schemes which are under review are the Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) and the orthodox subsidy scheme.She said that at present, Tea Board is facilitating disbursement of loans to companies at soft rates and repayment is being made by the proceeds at the auctions.The official said KPMG had suggested that instead of Tea Board distributing loans to companies, the government should give interest subsidy.On the orthodox subsidy scheme, Sen said that Tea Board had proposed for its continuation in 12th Five-Year Plan to the Planning Commission.On the Iran payments crisis, Sen said it has not resolved yet and is hurting export of orthodox tea.Sen said that e-auction process would be streamlined in consultation with the industry.Minister for Development of North-East Region P S Ghatowar said that the tea industry should not discriminate between workers of West Bengal and Assam.

Rain, poor sunlight likely to hit tea output in South

2011-09-16T20:01:00.000+05:30

Persistent rain and low sunlight are expected to take toll on South Indian tea production.“Rains are often good for the tea crop but they should be interspersed with consistent sunshine to facilitate good plucking operations,” said an official of the United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI).South India's tea production till July was down by close to 3.6 million kg on account of lower production in all the States. The only saving grace was that production from Nilgiris, which account for more than 50 per cent of Tamil Nadu's production, had not been affected. But all that seems to be changing now.“Unlike the previous months, production shortfalls are expected from the Nilgiris region as well in August. With persistent rain continuing into September, the production shortfall period could be further extended in this region,” Mr R. Sanjith, Head of Commodities, UPASI, said.July tea production in South India, and Tamil Nadu in particular, was higher due to higher output from the Nilgiris region, though lower production was reported from Kerala and other parts of Tamil Nadu.South Indian tea prices in general have been picking up in recent months, remaining just a notch above last year's levels. Last financial year ended with tea prices ruling firm to dearer at South India's auction centres. During the first quarter of the current year, prices were a tad lower than last year, although not very significantly. Prices have been rising further during the second quarter and the trend is likely to continue in the coming months.What has been holding the price line has been the lower production from South India. This was despite a huge increase in north Indian tea production by 33 million kg till July 2011. As the two regions, North and South India cater to different segments of the international markets and different taste segments in the domestic market, prices have not been overtly affected.The huge production shortfall reported from Kenya — estimated at 35-36 million kg — has also helped to keep international prices firm. While earlier reports had indicated that Sri Lankan production had not been much affected, more recent reports suggest that there could be shortfall of 1-1.5 million tonnes from the island nation. This could also go to strengthen the international prices in the short run.

Tea output in first seven months up 6.37%

2011-09-16T19:54:00.001+05:30

India's tea production in the first seven months of current calendar has increased by 6.37 per cent over the same period of last year, reveals an analysis of the latest data available with Tea Board and producers' organisations.Between January and July, production increased to 491.59 million kg (mkg) from 462.16 mkg during Jan-July 2010. This increase of 29.43 mkg marks a growth of 6.37 per cent. The increase would have been more had it not been for a decline of 3.60 mkg in South Indian production. North India posted a gain of 33.03 mkg.North Indian output rose by to 348.14 mkg from 315.11 mkg. Assam continued to dominate India's tea map with a production of 234.32 mkg (last year: 204.50) accounting for 47.67 per cent (44.25 per cent) of the country's overall output. West Bengal's production increased to 110.38 mkg (107.33) of which, the share of Darjeeling tea, hailed to be the tea champagne, was 4.99 mkg (4.20).South India's production dropped to 143.45 mkg from 147.05. Tamil Nadu's output declined to 100.19 mkg from 103.27 mkg. Kerala and Karnataka also posted lower production. Source: Business Line

Tea baron held for bar attack - Brew auction stopped, market closed after arrest

2011-09-03T13:54:00.000+05:30

Siliguri, Sept. 2: The chairman of the Siliguri Tea Auction Centre and a businessman were arrested today for allegedly leading a group of people who had attacked a bar with crooners at Sevoke Road yesterday.The STAC chairman, Gangadhar Agarwal, and the owner of a chain of sweet shops, Pradip Bansal, have been charged with theft, assault and mischief and remanded in 14 days’ jail custody.Traders shut down the auction centre and the wholesale grocery market in Khalpara, where Agarwal and Bansal reside, to protest the arrest.Around 40 people carrying Congress flags barged into Rave Up, a bar where singers perform live, and went on the rampage. In his complaint filed with Bhaktinagar police, the owner of the bar, Vijay Sharma, alleged that the attackers had heckled his staff and taken away cash from the counter.“All of them suddenly entered the bar and smashed the furniture. I have no clue why they attacked my bar as only live singing is allowed and there is no question of dance performance to which they were objecting. Two of my employees have suffered injuries as they tried to dissuade the attackers,” said Sharma.Recently, a forum known as Singing Bar Pratibad Mancha had emerged in town with the backing of the Congress. “Our key demand is to stop the practice of singing and dancing in bars. We have been organising a movement in a democratic manner for the past three months and have no connection with yesterday’s incident,” said Jayanta Saha, the joint convener of the Mancha.The office-bearers of the Mancha and bar owners held a meeting on Wednesday and it was decided that there would be no dance performance in any outlet selling liquor in Siliguri.“Regarding live singing, a seven-member committee comprising the representatives of the Mancha and bar owners’ association was formed to look into the issue and decide on timings, dress code of the singers and other issues,” said Saha. He said both Agarwal and Bansal were members of the Mancha and were wrongly implicated in the case.The duo were arrested from their homes. As the news spread, the tea auction came to a halt. “We did not participate in the auctions today to protest against the arrest of the STAC chairman,” said Bajrang Sethia, a senior member of the Siliguri Tea Traders’ Association. Around 100 million kilogram of tea is traded at the centre annually. The auction will resume at 9am tomorrow.Shops downed shutters in Khalpara as both Agarwal and Bansal were from there.“Both are our members and we protest the way they have been falsely named in the case,” said Kailash Agarwal, the secretary of the Siliguri Merchants’ Association.The arrested men were produced in the chief judicial magistrate’s court in Jalpaiguri. The judge, Debabarata Mukherjee, rejected the duo’s bail petitions and ordered 14 days’ jail custody for them. They would be produced in court again on September 16.The North Bengal Musical Bar Owners’ Association has denied the allegation that dance performances are held in their outlets. They said all musical bars would be closed for an indefinite period from today.“We condemn the way a bar here was ransacked without any provocation yesterday,” said Rohon Sarkar, the association’s secretary. “Unless the issue is resolved, we will not open our establishments.”Sources said Darjeeling district Congress president and Matigara-Naxalbari MLA Shankar Malakar would hold a meeting with the bar owners tomorrow. He is known to have backed the Mancha and protested against such bars.The Darjeeling district magistrate, M.K, Gandhi, said the district administration gave permission for only singing in bars. “We don’t allow live dance in bars. Permission is given for live singing with certain conditions.” Source: The Telegraph

Tea prices remain firm as arrivals ease at Kochi auction

2011-09-03T13:38:00.002+05:30

Kochi Sept 3: Prices remained firm at the Kochi Tea Auction even as arrivals have begun to ease on account of heavy August rains in the tea growing regions of South India. There was 9,87,000 kg of dust and 3,41,000 kg of leaf tea on offer at the auction. Prices remained firm to dearer at the CTC dust auction, particularly the good liquoring and medium grades.Plain grades quoted around last week’s levels. AVT, Tata Global, Hindustan Unilever and Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation were active on good liquoring grades. Loose tea traders lent useful support. Upcountry buyers and exporters remained subdued. Primary grades were steady at the orthodox dust auction while secondaries inched lower. There were several withdrawals from the orthodox dust auction market.Leaf AuctionHigh grown grades remained firm to dearer at the orthodox leaf auction following quality. Other Nilgiri teas tended to ease. Medium bolder broken and whole leaf grades were firm to occasionally dearer. Most other orthodox leaf was irregular and sometimes quoted lower. Traditional exporters, including those to CIS countries were active. Fannings were absorbed by tea bag manufacturers and exporters. Upcountry buyers lent useful support on whole leaf grades. HUL was not active. There was good demand at the CTC leaf auction where good liquoring grades were firm to dearer. Others grades were irregular to easier. Exporters were active on medium/plainer grades.Superior grades were absorbed by upcountry buyers. HUL lent fair amount of support.Top PricesPasuparai FD fetched the top price at the dust auction at Rs 142 followed by Pasuparai SFD at Rs 133, Injipara SFD and Injipara SRD at Rs 129. At the leaf auction Pascoe’s green tea fetched the top price at Rs 289 followed by Chamraj OP and Chamraj FOP at Rs 206 even as Havukal OP fetched Rs 205. Source: The Hindu

More fringe benefits for tea workers

2011-08-29T11:08:00.000+05:30

Guwahati, Aug. 27: The tea industry has agreed to increase the quantum of fringe benefits to its workers.

It has acceded to increase the quantity of dry tea given to daily workers, the firewood given to sub-staff and the incentives given to workers engaged in spraying operations, as demanded by the Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS).

A memorandum of settlement to this effect was signed in Dibrugarh yesterday between representatives of five employers’ associations and the ACMS, which represents the workers.

The meeting was attended by DoNER minister Paban Singh Ghatowar, who is also the president of Assam Cha Mazdoor Sangha. This is the first tea industry meeting that Ghatowar has attended since becoming DoNER minister.

The agreement was signed after several rounds of bilateral discussions between the ACMS and the Assam valley branch of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations.

The chairman of Indian Tea Association, C.S. Bedi, was also present at the meeting.

According to the agreement, permanent workers who earlier got 600gm of dry tea per month per family, according to the 1979 fringe benefits agreement, will get 900gm per month with effect from September 1.

Single workers will now get 400gm of tea compared to the previous 300gm.

The firewood entitlement, which was fixed at 228 cubic feet according to the 1979 agreement, has now been increased to 342 cubic feet. The agreement will be interim till the time LPG is made available.

It was also decided that the sprayers engaged in gardens will get an additional compensation of Rs 3 per day.

“The agreement will have some financial impact but we are doing this for the welfare of the workers since we care for them,” a tea industry official who attended the meeting said.

The industry has been asking the Centre to share half the social cost borne by the plantation industry but nothing has materialised despite various committees’ recommendations.

The social cost is now Rs 9 per kg of made tea.

The social cost incurred in providing housing, health and sanitation to the workers is being borne by the industry.

Tea tragedy on record - Figures on fingertips, Partha lists garden woes

2011-08-29T11:07:00.000+05:30

Calcutta, Aug. 26: A death-a-day human tragedy, economic perils and administrative apathy that are striking at the root of Bengal’s tea industry were given a statistical face today in the Assembly as figure after grim figure tumbled out.

Starting with the grimmest, industries minister Partha Chatterjee said 3,500 people died in the last one decade in north Bengal tea gardens because of malnutrition, putting on government record the nearly one-death-a-day figure known by all but admitted by none.

Neither the administration nor the visiting health staff in the previous Left Front government had admitted that the workers in the closed gardens of the Dooars and Terai were suffering from malnutrition, a symptom not associated with square meals but with starvation.

In response to a question, Chatterjee said: “This is on record, 3,500 garden labourers have died of malnutrition in the last decade. It has been quoted in the Supreme Court.”

An industries department official said the apex court got the figure after social activist Anuradha Talwar carried out an on-the-spot survey in the closed tea gardens in north Bengal after instructions from the court in 2003.

“We are trying to improve and intervene in areas where it is practically possible…, starting from assuring payment of wages to the improvement of tea quality. We have to shift from mass production to producing tea of distinction, of which we have a history that we are proud of,” he said.

Chatterjee said tea production in the state has increased by 19 per cent in the last decade but export has come down as quality has been hit, a charge that planters denied.

In 2001, Bengal’s tea production was 192 million kg while in 2011, it had grown to 228 million kg, the minister said. “There had been a 19 per cent increase in the state’s production in the last decade, while the country's production over the same period had increased by 14 per cent,” he added. “Exports, however, had come down over this period because of a fall in the quality of tea,” the minister told the House.

Chatterjee’s observation on quality comes at a time when the industry has been trying to grapple with workers’ shutdowns and strikes for revision of wages.

The minister also said an eight-year-old recommendation that the government and the planters share the social cost of the workers would be looked into.

Planters in north Bengal said Chatterjee’s remark on quality influencing export must have been on CTC tea, which is grown in the foothills or the Dooars and the Terai. “For, the demand for Darjeeling tea has been consistent in the international market,” said K.K. Mintri, a planter from Siliguri.

Mintri, however, said the export of CTC tea has come down because of higher prices that Indian manufacturers are forced to demand from international buyers as a result of the higher cost of production.

“CTC tea has good competition from countries like Vietnam and Kenya which produce similar tea and can afford to sell at lesser prices,” Mintri said. The planter said buyers for CTC are mostly from Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Russia, unlike Darjeeling tea, which is exported to European countries and the US.

U.B. Das, the principal adviser to the Indian Tea Planters’ Association, claimed that other countries could produce tea at lower cost because the fringe benefits and wages provided to workers there were less than what was given here.

“The only way to slash prices in international market is to bring down the cost of production. This will not be possible unless the state and the Centre shoulder some of the responsibilities,” he said. The workers here get a daily wage of Rs 67 and benefits like PF, gratuity housing, ration, free medical aid and education facilities for children.

The trade wing of Chatterjee’s party, Trinamul, which has been trying to curb bandhs in gardens, has demanded Rs 130, the same amount paid under the 100-days central job scheme. The rural job scheme has been often blamed by planters for absenteeism among workers.

Asked by Congress’s Alipurduar MLA D.P. Roy if an inter-ministerial committee recommendation in 2003 to the government to share the social cost of workers with the planters had been considered, the minister replied it was still pending. “But steps are being taken — a separate secretariat is being set up in north Bengal, and experts are being consulted. The situation will change soon,” he said.

Source: The Telegraph

Drop in prices to hurt tea companies' H2 bottom line: Indian Tea Association

2011-08-26T09:45:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA: The second half of financial year 2011-12 does not appear to be bright for tea companies. With prices sliding Rs 10-15 per kg and the rate of interest going up by 3% on an average, tea companies' cash flow is under pressure.

CS Bedi, chairman of Indian Tea Association, said: "The interest rate has gone up by 2.5-3% on an average. This is putting pressure on the margins of tea companies as the cost of production is going up. Moreover, over the last fortnight tea prices have shown a drop, which is a matter of concern for all tea companies. This is bound to have an effect on the bottomline of tea companies in the second half of the current financial year."

India's tea production rose by 10% to 114.70 million kg during June 2011 on the back of a higher output in Assam and West Bengal. The country produced 104.03 million kg of the brew in the same month last year, according to Tea Board data.

Production in Assam, which accounts for more than 50% of the tea produced in the country, rose by 24% to 62.82 million kg in June 2011 from 50.70 million kg in the year-ago period. Similarly, output in West Bengal rose by more than 2% to 25.95 million kg from 25.34 million kg in the year-ago period. During the January-June period of the 2011 calendar year, tea production rose to 358.32 million kg from 338.96 million kg in the corresponding period of 2010.

With an improvement in production this year, arrivals at auction centres have increased suddenly. "July and August are the two months when generally arrivals for auctions improve. Last year, the scenario was different. Production had gone down due to a pest attack and excessive rains. This had pushed up prices last year. This year, the prices are not going up as last year's levels.

In some cases, there is a drop in prices. However, quality tea are fetching good prices," said J Kalyansundaram, secretary, Calcutta Tea Traders Association. Orthodox tea producers have suffered the most this year as they cannot export their produce to Iran, a major market, due to a payment problem. "Orthodox teas are selling at price which is lower than by Rs 10-15 per kg," said Bedi.

Economic Tmes

Trinamul tea union on anti-bandh drive - NREGS shows way to Rs 130 daily wage cry

2011-08-25T10:26:00.000+05:30

The Trinamul Congress has started an anti-bandh campaign in the tea gardens in the foothills through its trade union, asking workers to refrain from strikes and embargoes and instead fight for their rights through talks.

The Trinamul Tea Plantation Workers’ Union also said it would ask the government to help negotiate with planters so that garden labourers in the Dooars and Terai got a revised daily wage of Rs 130, the same amount paid under the 100-day central job scheme (see chart).

The Trinamul trade union’s anti-bandh drive kicks off a day after party chief and chief minister Mamata Banerjee requested all political outfits to refrain from bandhs and blockades as they affected livelihood.

“We are not in favour of calling strikes or stopping despatch of tea. So, we have started campaigns against such activities. Our chief minister has time and again insisted that strikes, bandhs and blockades should be discouraged. On our part, we are trying to take more and more people into our confidence. They should surely fight for their rights but not resort to any action that might affect the tea industry,” said Trinamul trade union leader Joachim Buxla.

The Trinamul trade wing is a constituent of the Defence Committee for Plantation Workers’ Rights that had called a three-day strike in the industry earlier this month. Today, however, Trinamul claimed that it had opposed the bandh then.

“We had instructed our supporters to report for duty,” said Buxla, who switched over to Trinamul from the RSP in 2009.

Trinamul admitted that as far as trade unionism was concerned it had far to go and had managed to form units in only 30 or so gardens. Citu and Intuc are dominant in most gardens, followed by the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad-backed labour union.

“We had started from scratch and right now, we have units in more than 30 gardens in the Dooars. Every week, we are opening new units,” said Buxla. “In terms of forming a trade union base, we have a long way to go but nonetheless, we have started working on our agendas to ensure that tea workers are not deprived of their rights.”

Last week, the trade unions scaled down their demand for revised wage to at least Rs 91. The root of the stand-off in the plains is a deal of Rs 90 a day that the Gorkha Janmuki Morcha managed to clinch for workers of the Darjeeling tea industry. The plains workers now get Rs 67.

“As there is no fixed minimum wage in the state, we consider the NREGS rate as the base for calculation of other daily wages. We have told the labour minister that workers would feel deprived if they are paid less than Rs 90. The revised wage should be Rs 130 or above,” Buxla, today, said.

A deal less than Rs 90, many trade union leaders believe, would upset the 2 lakh or so casual workers more than the permanent labourers. “The 2.5 lakh permanent workers, who get additional benefits like bonus, PF, gratuity, housing, ration and free medical aid, is not much attracted to the national job scheme. But for casual workers, who don’t get these benefits, the Rs 130 a day for at least 100 days is surely more attractive,” said Chitta Dey, a trade union leader.

Union leaders said the low wages in the tea industry had forced many youths to migrate to the north and south Indian states where they earn even up to Rs 250 per day.

Absenteeism is a problem in most gardens in the hills and plains. Hill planters blame the higher wage of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for irregular attendance — one of the reasons why operations in the Darjeeling gardens are frequently hit, they say. The job scheme is open to all, including permanent workers.

Hill planters said the fringe benefits given to the permanent workers in the industry and daily wage together makes it Rs 130. Plains garden owners put the figure at Rs 120 or so but refused to blame the national rural job scheme for the truancy trend.

“There is a trend mostly among male workers to stay away from gardens. This is because of a number of reasons but it would be wrong to attribute it to NREGS,” said Sanjay Bagchi, the assistant secretary of the Dooars Branch of the India Tea Association, a body of planters.

The garden owners, however, could not provide a break-up of the fringe benefits in monetary units. “We cannot translate for example a housing benefit or a hospital benefit or firewood given for each worker. But when calculated on a larger scale, it comes to around Rs 120 a day if we add the daily wage of Rs 67 to it,” Monojit Dasgupta, secretary general of the Indian Tea Association.

Source: The Telegraph

The storm in Tatas' teacup

2011-08-25T10:24:00.000+05:30

Tata Global Beverages' profits may have more than tripled but rising commodity prices and competition will continue to challenge the tea major.

Percy Siganporia, Managing Director, Tata Global Beverages, would do well to take a strong swig of the tea his company brews to brace himself for some turbulent times ahead for the company. After a dip in net profits last quarter, Tata Global recovered with a more than three-fold increase in profits in the first quarter of this fiscal. However, the tough times will continue for the tea major as tea prices increase in most markets along with competition in both the international and domestic markets.

While net sales for the quarter increased by 6 per cent from Rs 1,373.89 crore to Rs 1,455.92 crore, the increase in net profit for the June quarter was backed by an infusion of Rs 88 crore of exceptional items along with lower interest costs whereby consolidated net profit jumped from Rs 45 crore to Rs 161 crore. As Siganporia explains, “While there has been volume growth during the quarter, the increase in profits has been due primarily to the increase in exceptional items.” Exceptional items comprise the sale of non-core assets in terms of shareholding in group company Tata Chemicals.

Maintaining volume leadership in the tea category for the world's second largest tea company with an 18.6 per cent share, Tata Global continued to take slight price increases during the quarter for its brands such as Tata Tea Premium Gold brand.

However, commodity costs have continued to be high and this has affected its margins. “Tea prices at the auctions have been dearer by nearly Rs 10 per kilo and it is only early this month that we found prices dipping,” says Siganporia. However, there is likely to be to no immediate respite from the increasing coffee prices and recovery from commodity costs may take a while, he adds.

RISING INPUT COSTS

Sagarika Mukherjee, research analyst at SBI Cap Securities, says the rising prices of tea and coffee will impact the company. “Profitability is likely to decline from these levels as tea and coffee prices are both going to rise again after a short span of easing in the month of June. Coffee production from Brazil (main source of coffee for Tata's Eight O'Clock) will see an ‘off-year' due to which the prices will remain firm this year. Coffee prices have risen from $1.5/pound to $3/pound in one year and are likely to settle around $2.7/pound, hence there will be continued raw material pressure for Eight O' Clock Coffee,'' she elaborates.

Besides, Kenya (the world's largest exporter of tea) will see a production loss of 50 million kg of tea this year due to which tea prices will remain high. Indian tea, especially from North Indian tea gardens, will continue seeing higher prices (above Rs 150/kg from Rs 136/kg last year) due to shortfall in production worldwide. Inventory levels are low for both coffee and tea worldwide which will exacerbate the situation.

MIXED PERFORMANCE

The company's performance in the international markets continues to be mixed. It has integrated its global business in three regions (Canada, South Asia and Great Britain) to strengthen the distribution channel, streamline costs and improve margins.

While in Canada it continues to have market leadership in the black and speciality tea segment, in the US lower volumes and commodity costs have led to its trailing behind its competitors. Its UK performance has also been affected due to phased promotions and competitive intensity while in Russia its coffee performance has been good, according to the company.

LESS OF TEA, LOCALLY

Even in the domestic markets competitive intensity is increasing and this is leading the company to explore new categories which do not use tea as an ingredient.

According to Parag Desai, Director, Gujarat Tea Processors & Packers Ltd, which makes Wagh Bakri, “Tata Tea has become a global company now and it is trying to move away from tea into more value-added beverages.''

In fact, in the past quarter when its profits had dipped, the company claimed it was planning to move away from the pure tea category. It has been looking at value-added products such as infusions and powders which use less of tea as a commodity and reduce its dependence on commodity-dependent formats in the tea segment.

“We want higher margins per serving of tea and believe that categories like infusions are going to give us those better margins. We want people to get addicted to categories such as infusions and powders but execution of such value-added categories has to be different,'' explains Siganporia.

Even in the UK market, the company has taken a strong position in speciality categories such as decaf and red bush in spite of having a presence in the black tea segment (which is de-growing).

Considering that the competitive intensity has increased in the UK, Tata Global has decided to focus on the antioxidants-led non-caffeine-based Red Bush category of teas. “While we trail behind in black tea, we have taken significant positions in the red bush and decaf category and intend to promote it,” says Siganporia.

However, the challenges will remain for the tea company. According to analysts, the main challenge will be to maintain margins in a high commodity inflation environment. Besides, Eight O'Clock Coffee has been de-growing since 2008 due to the slowdown in the US and hence passing on the costs to the end user without their downtrading will be a big challenge.

However, there are going to be positive factors affecting the business as well. As Mukherjee of SBI Caps says, “One positive is that the company has reduced its interest expenses significantly; hence that lower cost pushes up the profit after tax. Besides, the underlying 2 per cent volume growth with respect to the 6 per cent increase in net sales is decent given that the company grew by 13 per cent, most of which was volume-driven.''

Siganporia is also looking forward to better times considering the 12 per cent top line growth in the branded business in the domestic market driven by both volume and value (due to the price increases in the last two quarters of last fiscal). In the international markets too, he expects the coffee business to get on track with improved coffee performance in Russia. In the non-branded operations, Siganporia expects improved performance and realisations from the instant coffee units and coffee plantations in India aided by the commodity boom.

In spite of the tough times, Tata Global is bracing itself for the future. “Despite rising commodity costs, intense competitive activity and a challenging trading environment, we will continue to invest in our brands and focus on category development. Strong organic growth together with strategic alliances will help us achieve our vision of being a leader in ‘good for you' beverages,'' signs off Siganporia.

Source: Business Line

CAG finds holes in Tea Board's schemes to raise output

2011-08-25T10:23:00.000+05:30

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India's performance audit of the “Role of the Tea Board in tea development in India” has found the Board performing poorly in implementing various schemes to improve productivity.

In a damning statement, the CAG has said that the Tea Board has failed to lay down enhancement in production of orthodox tea as a pre-requisite for eligibility of subsidy.

The Board has allowed subsidy despite non-submission of proper documents or without proper verification of factory records, the report said.

A scrutiny of Chapter 4 of the audit report is revealing. According to the CAG, the Tea Board set a meagre target of 5,000 hectares for replanting/replacement planting during the 10th Plan.

This is just 2.63 per cent of the 1.9 lakh hectares of commercially unproductive tea plantation at the beginning of the Plan period.

NO LIST OF BENEFICIARIES

More interesting is the audit's finding of the Tea Board not maintaining a list of parties to whom subsidies were paid and amounts disbursed under the Tea Plantation Development Scheme.

The CAG said it could not ascertain how many gardens had availed subsidy under replanting/replacement planting.

In response to the CAG's charge, the Commerce Ministry said that since each application was processed separately for each activity, the payment made was reflected in the cash book and ledger. Hence, no separate list of parties that received subsidy was maintained.

The CAG selected a sample of 701 cases covering 309 gardens among the 2,565 cases for which replanting/replacement planting subsidy was given.

On checking the records of the 309 gardens, it found that 192 had got subsidy earlier too, and the Tea Board had not evaluated the impact of the past activities of these gardens.

The production, productivity and quality improvement of these gardens were not checked during pre-approval inspection, it said.

In the remaining gardens, the subsidy was either granted for the first time or the fact was not recorded in the application forms.

“By allowing subsidies without assessing the impact of past activities, the effectiveness of the scheme was compromised,” the audit report said.

The Commerce Ministry, responding to this, said that an assessment by AF Ferguson showed a productivity gain of between 42 and 74 per cent.

But the CAG countered it, saying AF Ferguson evaluated only 1.94 per cent of the 15,000-odd hectares covered under the scheme.

INSPECTION DELAYS

The CAG found that the Tea Board gave priority to tea bushes with high productivity (up to 3,170 kg a hectare). It also found the Tea Board having delayed inspections. In 76 per cent of the cases, the delays ranged between 31 days and 1,161 days for conducting pre-approval inspections. “Further, two or more inspections were done on the same day in many cases. Delays in conducting inspections defeated the very purpose of putting in place a detailed and purposeful monitoring mechanism,” it said.

In respect of 116 tea gardens, the Board paid subsidy on the basis of statement of provident fund dues submitted by the owners without verifying it through the challans. In 11 cases, no clearance certificate was produced by the applicants.

UNREGISTERED GROWERS

The audit also found the Board releasing subsidy to 12 gardens that began field activities before pre-approval inspection, thereby not finding out the physical suitability of the soil through an analysis.

Stating that the scheme prescribed minimum rehabilitation period of 18 months for plains and 12 months for hills before replanting, the report said no rehabilitation was done in 14 per cent of the cases despite the fact that there was no certificate or recommendation from the Tea Research Associations.

The dates of completion of rehabilitation were not recorded in 32 per cent of the cases, while the Tea Board gave subsidy to some gardens without ascertaining if they had made their soil suitable for plantations.

With regard to rejuvenations, of the 414 cases examined by it, the CAG found that the Tea Board had not checked the impact of rejuvenation on productivity in any of the cases.

At the Board's Coonoor office, the CAG found the beneficiaries were small growers who were not registered with the Tea Board.

“As such, the Board paid a subsidy of Rs 12 lakh to unregistered growers who were not eligible to receive subsidy,” it said.

The report also found fault with the implementation of the scheme to improve irrigation facilities and the scheme to subsidise new planting.

Source: Business line

Bonus pledge nips protest bud - McLeod Russell assures employees of equal perks

2011-08-25T10:20:00.000+05:30

Dibrugarh, Aug. 24: McLeod Russell India Ltd, the largest tea producing company in the world, has agreed to “remove all disparity and work out a formula to maintain uniformity in giving bonus to its employees employed in the gardens of Assam”.

This declaration comes in the wake of the declaration of an agitation by the All-Assam McLeod Russell Employees Co-ordination Committee.

The decision was taken during an eight-hour bilateral discussion yesterday between members of the committee and company representatives at the Assam Branch Indian Tea Association (Abita), Zone-I office here.

The meeting started at 2.30pm and went on till 11pm.

A team headed by Girish Chandra Borpatra Gohain, the general secretary of the Asom Chah Karmachari Sangha, represented the committee.

The sangha is the lone recognised trade union for tea garden employees in the Brahmaputra Valley.

Visiting agent Nandu Gangulee led a team of senior executives, which represented the company.

The employees’ committee, which functions under the Sangha, had earlier announced a three-phase agitation from August 22, against the alleged “arrogant attitude” of the company in settling its 19-point charter of demands.

“We had a threadbare discussion on some of the demands raised by the co-ordination committee and assured them that the company would do its best to find a solutions to the demands. We also appealed to the employees’ committee to withdraw their strike to which they agreed,” a company representative said.

“There are certain issues, which we would like to settle through the Consultative Committee for Plantations Association (CCPA), which is the co-ordinating body for all planters associations. We are happy that the discussions were held in a very cordial manner. We have decided to meet soon and finalise the agreement,” he added.

“Since the company had agreed to hold discussions and assured us of a patient hearing, we have decided to keep our agitation in abeyance for a month’s time,” Bhupen Borgohain, the president of the committee and secretary of the Moran circle of the Sangha, said.

McLeod Russell is the largest tea company in the world with 66 gardens.

In Assam, the company has 49 gardens with 2,500 employees.

The main demands of the employees includes increase of the retirement age to 60 years from 58, removal of disparity in payment of bonus to the employees, appointment of regular staff, abolishment of illegal voucher payment to retired staff whose services are extended on a contract basis and implementation of a uniformed seasonal allowance system.

Source: The Telegraph

Govt mum, tea planters fear unrest return

2011-08-24T09:56:00.002+05:30

Siliguri, Aug. 23: Tea planters are apprehending that peace prevailing in the gardens in the Dooars and the Terai will be vitiated any moment as the state government has not made any move in the past three weeks to broker a deal on the revision of workers’ wages.

The labour department or ministers entrusted with the task of holding talks with the planters and the trade unions have not got back to either parties after a tripartite meeting was held on August 5.

As the impasse continues, all trade unions, except the one affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, will be holding a convention on Monday to decide on the next course of action.

All the unions have put on hold their agitation for the higher wages, after weeks of general strikes, cease-work and the embargo on the despatch of processed tea from the plantations.

The garden owners said they wanted the government to intervene immediately to end the impasse.

“We are apprehensive about the current state of affairs in the tea gardens and want the government to act promptly to arrange talks to resolve the wage issue. It is a matter of concern that no negotiations have taken place after a tripartite meeting ended inconclusive on August 5. There is a chance that the unions might re-launch their agitation if no decision is reached immediately,” said Prabir Bhattacharjee, the secretary of the Dooars Branch of Indian Tea Association, a planters’ body.

The planters have also pointed out that until and unless a settlement is reached on the wages, they cannot fix the Puja bonus.

“Only a week is left in the current month. We are worried that if the wage issue is not resolved soon, there would be delay in fixing the Puja bonus. Even though fixing bonus rates would be easier than the wage negotiations, it would also take some time,” said the secretary of the tea association.

According to tea industry sources, the bonus will be fixed as a percentage of the revised wage. “As the pujas are round the corner, the wage and the bonus have to be fixed in quick succession. On the other hand, if the trade unions go back to their old demands of Rs 250 and Rs 165 as daily wages and call strikes, the situation will be complicated further. Now that the trade unions have scaled down their demands, the government must sit up and help us offer a realistic hike in the wages,” said a garden owner.

The garden labourers in the plains are paid Rs 67 currently. A new wage agreement was supposed to have come into effect on April 1 for a three-year duration.

Although the Progressive Tea Workers’ Union, affiliated to the Parishad, had initially sought a wage of Rs 250, it later said even Rs 130 would do. The union’s informal stand now is that any rate above Rs 90 will be acceptable to it.

Two apex bodies of labour wings — Defence Committee for Plantation Workers’ Rights and the Co-ordination Committee for Tea Plantation Workers — also reduced their demand from Rs 165 to Rs 130.

“The Parishad had conveyed its decision at informal talks with the ministers and the estate owners. So, any decision taken at such meetings will not be acceptable for us. We have repeatedly requested the labour minister and written to the chief minister to resolve the problem,” said Samir Roy, the convener of the Defence Committee for Plantation Workers’ Rights.

“There has been no communique from the government after the August 5 talks. We have no idea what the government plans to do.”

Roy said the apex bodies of the trade unions would hold a joint convention on August 29.

“We will chalk out our strategy at the convention. However, it seems that the situation will not change unless we approach the chief minister again for her intervention. A settlement on the wage revision has to be reached immediately. Otherwise, it will be difficult to fix the the bonus,” he said.

North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb said a tripartite meeting would be held soon to decide on the wage rate.

The Telegraph

Tea bonus hint: less than 20%

2011-08-24T09:35:00.000+05:30

Darjeeling, Aug. 23: The Darjeeling Tea Association today said the planters will not be able to pay Puja bonus to workers at last year’s rate of 20 per cent, an announcement that met with protests from the trade union of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

The planters said rampant absenteeism among tea labourers who are more keen on the 100 days’ work scheme, hike in workers’ wages and lower export orders because of recession had pushed up the cost of production, and hence, they cannot pay bonus at last year’s rate.

In 2010, the Darjeeling tea industry, which produces the world’s premier brew, paid bonus at the rate of 20 per cent for grades A, B and C gardens and at 17 percent for estates in the Grade D category. The 20 per cent bonus is the highest fixed under the Plantation Labour Act, 1951.

The bonus percentage is calculated on the basis of the total annual earnings of a worker.

H.R. Chaudhary, the president of the DTA, today said: “Our production has come down because of several reasons. The production cost has increased by 45 per cent because of inflation and hike in wages by about 33 per cent. As a result, we might not be able to pay the annual bonus at last year’s rate.”

According to DTA officials, the cost of producing a kilogram of Darjeeling tea hovers around Rs 350-370. “The maximum selling price of organic tea at times is only about Rs 400 per kg,” said an official of the DTA.

Sandeep Mukherjee, the principal adviser to the DTA, said: “Our production last year was 7.96 million kg of tea. At one time, the industry used to produce 13 million kg of made tea annually.” This time, the crop production has come down, though the figures are not available yet. Planters said they calculated the profits from the first and second flushes in the beginning of the season.

“One major problem is the absenteeism among garden workers which at times is as high as 25 per cent. Most of them prefer the 100 days work scheme instead of plucking tea leaves,” said Mukherjee.

The daily wage this year has been increased to Rs 90 from Rs 67. Although the hike is the highest in the history of the Darjeeling tea industry, the wage is still less than what the workers get under the 100 days job scheme. The daily wage under the central scheme is Rs 130.

“It is actually not true that we are paying less. Even though we give Rs 90 as daily wage, there are other benefits like provident fund and annual bonus. If we take these into account, our daily wages work out to around Rs 130,” said Chaudhary.

Mukherjee said the only way to stop the absenteeism was if the 100-days work scheme was undertaken between November and February, the lean season for the industry.

“We had approached the district administration but they said it had to be undertaken according to the requirement of the villagers and not during specific months,” said Mukherjee.

The DTA also said the recession in the West was bringing down export orders. “Considering all these factors, it is not possible to pay bonus at last year’s rate,” said Chaudhary.

The DTA has 12 Grade A, 15 Grade B, 16 Grade C and 17 Grade D gardens. The Indian Tea Association, another planters’ body in the hills, has six Grade A gardens, five Grade B and four Grade C estates as its members. Only one Grade D garden is a member of the ITA.

The planters’ announcement has been criticised by the Morcha-affiliated Darjeeling-Terai-Dooars Plantation Labour Union. “What are they (planters) talking about? This proposal will never be accepted. In fact, looking into the overall scenario we want the planters to give bonus at the rate of 20 per cent even to Grade D gardens this year,” said P.T Sherpa, the president of the union.

The union said they had not pressed for other benefits — like construction of new labour houses and repair of existing ones, hospitals in gardens that do not have one and improved medical aid and other fringe benefits — to ensure that the bonus is high

The Telegraph

Unions in war over wages

2011-08-23T10:38:00.000+05:30

Siliguri, Aug. 19: Some trade unions have decided to bargain for a tea wage higher than Rs 91 a day, even if it is only Rs 2-3 more, to win back those who had switched loyalties to join the Adivasi Vikas Parishad backed-Progressive Tea Workers’ Union (PTWU).

The decision comes a day after labour minister Purnendu Bose sent a feeler to the planters that the PTWU was ready to settle for Rs 91, a proposed daily wage that planters are not willing to consider.

An apex body of trade unions has also come down heavily on the PTWU for scaling down arbitrarily the demand for wages from Rs 250 to Rs 130 and finally to Rs 91 without consulting other labour organisations.

“The PTWU had initially demanded a daily wage of Rs 250 and during tripartite talks they had slashed it down to Rs 130. The tripartite talks ended inconclusively at the beginning of this month where we stuck to Rs 130. As a follow-up, the PTWU leaders resumed their old demand for Rs 250 but again, at the meetings with state ministers said they were ready to accept even Rs 91 as the revised rate,” Samir Roy, convener of the Defence Committee for Plantation Workers Rights, said. “We want the PTWU to clarify its stand as there is no surety that they will not put forward a fresh set of demands.”

Roy said the PTWU should have consulted the other trade unions and a joint decision taken for a better bargain.

But many trade unions leaders said the PTWU’s new rate has given them a face-saver as well as means to win back their supporters.

“We always knew that the planters would never agree to pay Rs 130. But we could not bring down our rates. Now that the PTWU has done it, it will be easier for us. But we will negotiate for rates like Rs 93 or Rs 95 per day. In that case we can tell the workers that we have got for them more than what the PTWU had got,” a senior trade union leader said.

All trade unions under the two apex bodies will discuss them at a meeting on August 27.”

Tea planters, however, have ruled out paying Rs 91. “Considering several aspects like production cost and tea prices, we had proposed an annual hike of Rs 8 for next three years at the end of which the wage will become Rs 91 after two years,” said Ranjit Dutta, secretary of the NB branch of Tea Association of India. “As of now, it is not possible for us pay Rs 91 as daily wage.”

Other planters said if there was pressure on them to pay even Rs 91, they would be forced to close down of gardens. “Many gardens run with marginal working capital and any sudden shortage may lead to non-payment of wages and other dues, followed by closure of these units,” a planter said.

The Telegraph

With demand for CTC teas rising, cos like Harrisons Malayalam focussing more on the local market

2011-08-23T10:35:00.000+05:30

KOCHI: Despite a decline in exports, tea prices are looking up in the domestic market. With the demand for CTC teas rising particularly in the south, big companies like Harrisons Malayalam are focussing more on the local market by launching new brands in the auction market.

South Indian tea prices have risen despite a fall in exports in the first six months due to increasing local demand. The best quality CTC teas are fetching anywhere between Rs 90 and Rs 100 kg. The average CTC price till the middle of August this year was Rs 78.86 per kg, over Rs 4 higher than in 2010.

Encouraged by the response to good quality CTC teas, Harrisons Malayalam recently launched 'Moongalaar Gold', a new bulk brand made from its Peermade-Kumili tea estates, for auctioning.

"The company has decided to focus on the domestic market while continuing to develop the export market," said Pankaj Kapoor, managing director of HML, which had stopped the loss-making consumer packet sales a few months ago. The company is also bringing premium quality teas made from its estates in Nilgiri-Wayanad region and from the high ranges of Munnar regions to the market soon.

Kanan Devan Hill Plantations (KDHP) launched the Ripple brand CTC tea some time ago. "The tea has been receiving encouraging response from the market and we are in the process of consolidating the business," said Mathew Abraham, marketing manager of the company.

According to a leading tea broker, the per capita consumption of tea has gone up from 650 gram a few years ago to 1 kg now and it is growing every year. The festival season starting next week could further raise consumption.

Higher prices for CTC tea due to increasing domestic demand is a good sign as south India's CTC production caters to the local market which is more stable, said Peter Mathias, chairman of The United Planters' Association of Southern India (Upasi).

He noted that despite a drop in production, quantity sold at the south India auction centres were up by 2.3 million kg in the January-June period compared with the corresponding period last year. This pointed to a low carryover stock and hence prices could remain buoyant even if the production rises.

economic times

Tea industry demands 'national drink' status for tea

2011-08-22T09:21:00.000+05:30

The tea industry of Assam, a state which is synonymous in the outside world with its tea, has asked the government to declare the beverage as the ‘National Drink’ of India. It also wants tea to be declared as the ‘State Drink’ of Assam.

“In view of its glorious past and in anticipation of its bright future, we sincerely feel that there is a genuine case for tea to be declared as the ‘State Drink’ of Assam. The logical step forward would then be to persuade the government of India to declare tea as the ‘National Drink’ of India,” said Bidyananda Barkakoty, Chairman of North Eastern Tea Association (NETA).

For India, which is the largest consumer of tea and the second largest producer of tea (till 2005 India was the largest producer), declaring tea will have an “integrating effect”, feels Barkakoty. India consumes more than 80 per cent of its domestic production and 20 per cent of the world’s production.

NETA had yesterday submitted a memorandum to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in support of its demand. In the memorandum, Barkakoty has put forth at least 33 reasons why tea should be declared as the ‘State Drink’ of Assam and the ‘National Drink’ of India.

“If whiskey can be the national drink of Scotland, sugarcane juice the national drink of Pakistan, vodka the national drink of Russia, tequila the national drink of Mexico, why can’t tea be the national drink of India,” asked Barkakoty.

Barkakoty feels that the tea industry in Assam, with its 180 years of glorious history, has already passed through many turbulent periods and is quite vulnerable to recession. Since the livelihood of millions of people is associated with the industry, it needs adequate support to protect it from being threatened.

He feels that the proposed new status of this beverage would provide a major impetus to the brand building exercise of Indian tea. “Symbolism apart, the declaration will be a good idea for bolstering the marketing of Indian tea. Tea is now accepted as a health drink world over. This fact coupled with the ‘State Drink’ and ‘National Drink’ tag would also attract the large youth population of the country towards this health beverage,” said Barkakoty.

Historically, Assam is the second commercial tea producing region after southern China. Southern China and Assam are the only two regions in the world with native tea plants. Assam produces more than 55 per cent of India’s total tea production and contributes 13 per cent of global tea production.

Business Standard

S. India tea prices surge on global shortage

2011-08-22T09:20:00.002+05:30

Kochi, August 17:

With a persisting shortage in the global market, both Indian and global tea prices have been firming up. In South India, average price realisations have been up during January-June 2011, with the number going up to Rs 71.17 a kg.

Mr Peter Mathias, Chairman, UPASI Tea Committee said that it was interesting to note that despite a decline in production in South India, quantity sold in auction centres was higher by 2.3 million kg (mkg) and the supply in the pipeline would be relatively dry. Given the demand supply gap, he expected the prices to remain buoyant.

In addition, the quantity on offer at the orthodox category has come down very sharply and increasing export demand for orthodox teas is expected to have a very positive effect on prices. This comes in the backdrop of a lower Kenyan crop by 34.5 mkg which has led to a shortage in supply during the first six months of the current year. Although this was partially compensated by higher North Indian crop of 23.9 mkg, the global deficit stood at 20.6 mkg.
Less exports

South Indian crop, meanwhile, was down by 4.6 mkg, the fourth year in a row of lower South Indian production. The increase in price realisation from South India was despite lower exports of 9.7 mkg. The lower export from India in general, and South India in particular, was on account of disturbance in West Asia and North Africa region. As the situation in this region is improving, exports are poised to look up, taking up the prices along with it.
Tight supply

A close scrutiny on auction offering at major auction centres such as Mombasa and Colombo suggest that quantity offered at the forthcoming auctions are bound to be very low, suggesting a tighter supply position in the short run. The Kenyan offering at Mombasa Auction has declined from 6.5 mkg in the 23rd sale to around 4.1 mkg in the 31st sale.

Similarly, in Sri Lanka also the quantity offered has shown marginal decline, falling below the 7-mkg mark. With the Iran payment problem being sorted at least partially, it appears that exports are bound to pick up and South Indian tea sector looks forward to a very positive second half.

The Hindu

India tea prices steady; supply pressure weighs

2011-08-22T09:19:00.002+05:30

MUMBAI Aug 19 (Reuters) - Tea prices in India, the world's second biggest producer, were steady at this week's auction as a demand boost during festival offset a rise in supplies, dealers said on Friday.

Price of CTC (crush-tear-curl) tea eased 0.66 percent to 127.41 rupees per kg against 128.26 rupees at the previous weekly auction.

Dust tea gained 0.2 percent to 123.77 rupees per kg from 123.52 rupees at the previous auction.

"Supplies have risen significantly since the beginning of this month. Quality of leaf is good. Domestic buyers are putting large orders," said an official at Calcutta Tea Trader's Association.

India's June tea output rose 10.3 percent to 11.47 million kg, while exports dropped 3.8 percent to 12.27 million kg on year, data with the state-run Tea Board showed.

India is the world's second biggest producer of tea after China. It exports CTC tea mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the U.K., and the premium orthodox variety to Iraq, Iran and Russia.

Prices in the latest auction (Aug 16-18) --------------------------------------------------------------

Variety Offered quantity Sold quantity Avg Price --------------------------------------------------------------

CTC Leaf 3027873 2353232 127.41

Dust tea 1659790 1317945 123.77

Prices in the last auction (Aug 9-11) ---------------------------------------------------------------

CTC Leaf 2944293 2236028 128.26

Dust tea 1699003 1086345 123.52

Source: Calcutta Tea Traders' Association (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Rajesh Pandathil)

Tea output set to fall by 120 m kg this year

2011-08-22T09:18:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA: The Indian tea industry is heading towards a shortfall of 120 million kg this year. Lower domestic production, coupled with a drop in Kenyan output of 37 million kg, has already pushed up tea prices in India.

Global prices have also appreciated in the last four months. All these factors have pushed up the profitability of tea companies in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

Tea producers say the deficit in the domestic market will be 120 million kg this year. This is despite the fact that the weather condition is generally good this year.

India had produced 960 million kg of tea last year and there was a production shortfall of nearly 30 million kg. The carryover deficit in 2010 was 60 million. In all, the deficit in 2010 was 90 million kg.

"With consumption growing at a rate of 3-3.5%, there is a need for an additional 30 million kg of tea this year to meet this demand. This means that there will be an overall deficit of 120 million kg this year," explained Aditya Khaitan, managing director of McLeod Russel India.

"Tea companies are expecting that FY12 will be a good year performance-wise. Tea prices are already on a firm note. The shortfall in Kenya by 37 million kg is also pushing up global tea prices and Indian tea exporters are leveraging this," said CS Bedi, managing director of Rossell India.

For instance, McLeod Russel's teas are being sold at a premium in India as well as in Mombasa auctions which have jacked up its net profit by 98% to Rs 37.33 crore in the first quarter of FY12 from Rs 18.85 crore in the first quarter of financial year 2011. "Our teas are fetching Rs 15 -16 more per kg compared to previous year. Teas grown in our Ugandan and Rwandan estates are fecthing 50-60 cents more per kg at the Mombasa auctions," said Khaitan.

AN Singh, managing director & chief executive officer of Goodricke Group, said: "The market sentiment is strong and teas are expected to fetch better prices. This will have an imp- act on the profitability of tea firms. However, one has to see whether the cost of production does not go up in the coming mo-nths. Export enquries are strong and tea companies are hoping to have better forex earnings."

The Economic Tmes

Dhumal writes to Centre for revival of Kangra Tea

2011-07-24T13:57:00.002+05:30

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has asked the Centre for a special package to revive the traditional Kangra Tea — one of the oldest variety of tea grown in the country since the British period.

In this regard, the state government has written to Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma and also Tea Board of India several times, but has not received any satisfactory response.

Opposing the move to release out the tea gardens, Dhumal had reiterated the state government’s resolve to rejuvenate Kangra Tea since the tea planters were in real distress and needed immediate help. “Leasing out the tea gardens either to a state agency or a professional company will not be acceptable to the tea planters. Instead, it will be in their interest to link them with some good private company for marketing purposes and ensure better return for the produce,” the chief minister wrote. Such a move would motivate tea planters to adopt better practices and produce good quality tea, he added.

Dhumal also told the Centre that the state government had sent its proposal for the revival of Kangra Tea in May 2010, which included rejuvenation and re-plantation in the existing active and abandoned areas, besides identifying new potential areas. The proposed package has several other components too.

Indian Express

Better prospects for Darjeeling Tea this year

2011-07-21T17:32:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA: The export market shines bright for Darjeeling tea this year. Harrods of Knightsbridge has picked up 20% more while Twinings has placed enquiries with tea companies and Japanese buyers like Mitsui too have send feelers to the tea producers. Strong demand from overseas buyers has pushed up the prices at auctions by Rs 10-15 per kg.

Sanjay Bansal, chairman of Ambootia Group , the second-largest Darjeeling tea company, told ET: "The demand from overseas buyers has increased quite significantly this year. Harrods has already come to Darjeeling gardens and has picked up teas according to their own choice. Japanese buyers have also sent feelers and they will be coming in the autumn. There is a huge demand among the buyers for organic teas. Those gardens that produce organic teas are fetching good prices in the global market. In general, prices of tea are ruling firm."

Last year, Darjeeling tea had suffered a production loss due to drought-like situation in the hills. Production has increased this year due to favourable weather condition.

"Last year, production got affected due to a drought-like situation. We lost the premium first and second flush teas, which fetch maximum revenues. But revenue-wise this year will be better than last year," said Ashok Lohia , chairman of Chamong Tee , the largest Darjeeling tea producer.

Last year, Darjeeling had produced 8 million kg of tea, which was the lowest in last decade. Darjeeling produces nearly 10 million kg tea annually. Of this, 40% earns the maximum revenues as they are largely exported. The rest 60% is rain teas, which do not fetch good prices in the global market.

"Now, there has been incessant rains in the hills, which is a matter of concern to the producers. The industry is hopeful of achieving at least 9 million kg output this year," said Kausik Basu , secretary of Darjeeling Tea Association .

While exports have improved over the last three months, the domestic demand for Darjeeling tea is also increasing.

"Though the first and second flush teas are high-priced and are largely exported, there has been an interest among domestic consumers for these varieties. We are seeing a shift among the consumers from average tea to quality tea," said a city-based retailer.

Economic Times

North Indian tea exports up 30% in May 2011

2011-07-21T17:23:00.002+05:30

Tea exports from North India rose by 30% to 4.8 million kg in May 2011 on the back of increased demand from overseas markets and a decline in production in Kenya.

North India had exported 3.7 million kg of tea in the year-ago period, according to the tea board data.

"The season has started on a good note and we are getting a lot of queries from foreign buyers. Also since the Kenyan tea production has gone down, the buyers are coming to us for their requirement," Indian Tea Association Joint Secretary Sujit Patra told PTI.

According to industry analysts, Kenya -- a leading exporter of black tea -- reported a decline in tea output due to depressed and poorly distributed rainfall.

"This time our focus is on export of quality tea so that we can increase our unit realisation on per kg of tea," Patra noted.

On tea exports to Iran, he said the payment problem with the Persian Gulf Nation could hamper tea exports to that country and would result in loss of earnings.

"Tea exporters are facing payment problems from Iran. We export a special variety of orthodox tea to Iran and this could be hampered because of payment problems," he pointed out.

According to the Tea Board Deputy Chairman, Roshni Sen, the Iran payment crisis issue is being taken up at the highest level.

The Iranian tea market is about 100 million kg and India exports about 15 million kg of tea to the West Asian country.

Following the imposition of US sanctions on Iran, the dollar and euro-based transactions with Iran have stopped, leading to a crisis over the mode for making payments

Money Control

Tripartite meet on tea garden tomorrow - Kallinecherra management declares lockout after labour unrest

2011-07-21T17:22:00.002+05:30

Silchar, July 20: Tension has been simmering in a prime tea plantation in south Assam’s Cachar district for the past three days after the management declared a lockout following labour unrest.

The assistant labour commissioner of the state government in south Assam district, A. Howbam, has scheduled a tripartite meeting in his office here on Friday to restore normality in Kallinecherra tea estate, 45km west of this town.

Soumendu Mukherji, the secretary of the Barak Valley branch of the Tea Association of India (TAI), said at least three incidents of intransigence of workers over the past six months had prodded the management of Kallinecherra to clamp an indefinite lockout in the garden with effect from Monday, which is pay-day in the garden.

He said the latest showdown between the management and the workers took place on July 15 with the workers demonstrating in the office of garden manager A.R. Murya against the alleged “harassment and intemperate behaviour” of a senior official holding the post of tillababu in the garden’s Digarkhal division.

The assistant general secretary of Cachar Cha Sramik Union, Dinanath Baroi, today said the tillababu, Kirit Mohan Bhattacharjee, had provoked around 800 workers by asking at least five women workers, under the leadership of a tea plucker, Anita Bhumij, to do some work other than their daily duty of plucking tea leaves. The workers went to the manager’s bungalow and then to his office to lodge a protest. When the manager refused to meet them, the labourers ransacked both these establishments and damaged other garden property as well.

Soon after the workers’ protest, the authorities rushed a posse of policemen to the garden as the tension was escalating.

Baroi alleged that instead of solving the impasse, the management took recourse to lockout, which meant that the workers would be denied their wages and food rations.

The meeting called by the assistant labour commissioner will be attended, besides Howbam, by representatives of CCSU, the only recognised tea workers’ union in Barak districts, the management of the garden and TAI.

The stalemate in this profit-making garden comes at a time when this plantation has started reaping profits since 2008. It had slid into a phase of uncertainty for five years starting 2002 because of the recession in the tea industry.

The tea estate, located along NH44 on way to Meghalaya, is a property of the Calcutta-headquartered Loobah Tea Company Ltd. The annual output of the garden, which sprawls on 460 hectares, is pegged at about six lakh kg of CTC tea.

The Telegraph

Truancy warning to tea unions - Absenteeism rap follows wage hike

2011-07-18T07:10:00.002+05:30

Darjeeling, June 29: Hill planters today sent a strong message to the trade unions that low productivity because of workers’ absenteeism and indiscipline would not be tolerated in the tea sector. The warning comes a day after the planters announced an across-the-board 33 per cent pay hike for the sub-staff of the Darjeeling tea industry.

The tea unions from the Darjeeling hills, especially the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-affiliated union, have been able to extract three major concessions for their workers and the sub-staff from the garden managements in the past six months.

The managements have been forced to pay an annual bonus to workers at the rate of 20 per cent to Grade A, B and C gardens and 17 per cent for Grade D estates in October 2010. According to the Plantation Labour Act, 1951, 20 per cent is the maximum permissible limit. The Darjeeling tea industry had last paid a 20 per cent bonus in 1991 when production reached an all-time high at 13.9 million kg annually.

In early March this year, the unions had managed to extract a daily wage hike of Rs 23 for the workers, which, too, is the highest hike in the industry’s history. Yesterday, the unions were once again able to bargain for an all-time high increase in the sub-staff salary at 33 per cent.

“We have given everything that was possible. However, everything will not be hunky-dory in the Darjeeling tea industry if core issues related to labour indiscipline is not immediately addressed. Absenteeism is as high as 30 per cent among the work force. Workers don’t even put in 8 hours and indiscipline is rampant,” said Sandip Mukherjee, secretary of the Darjeeling Tea Association.

In fact, the Singtam tea garden in Darjeeling had to withdraw its management in December last year because of high absenteeism among workers.

Mukherjee said tea production figures were plummeting but the cost of production was bound to rise because of the unprecedented hike in salaries and the rise in prices of other commodities. “Given the hike in the wages and in fuel prices we can safely assume that the cost price would now go up by Rs 100 from the present Rs 250 per kg on an average. The average selling price still stands at around Rs 400 per kg,” said Mukherjee.

The selling price of tea in gardens located in lower elevations is not so high. “The quality of tea depends on the elevation,” said Mukherjee. The wage hike has, however, not differentiated between gardens on the basis of their elevations.

“The unions must make an attempt to address and educate the workers. We are ready to provide logistic help to the union leaders like ensuring transport to reach their people in distant gardens and make them understand the need to put in quality hours in a labour intensive sector. Merely being in the field for eight hours does not mean that they are doing the required amount of work,” said Mukherjee.

Given the fact that there are 55,000 permanent workers and 16,000 temporary ones in the 86-odd tea gardens of the hills, the industry will have to bear an additional burden of more than Rs 40 crore per annum for paying the salaries of the workers and sub staff following the increment. With the increase in wages, bonus and provident funds are also expected to increase. “The returns show no signs of improving. If the workers put in proper effort we can expect production to go up by more than one million kg annually,” said Mukherjee. According to the officials, the annual production of made tea was around 8 million kg last year.

“We want the unions’ active involvement as workers listen to them. The management is represented by a manager and three to four assistants in a garden. The situation is such that every one is trying to be a union leader,” said Mukherjee.

Suraj Subba, general secretary of the Morcha-affiliated Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, said his trade union had always extended co-operation to the management and would continue to do so.

“However, instead of only blaming the workers the planters should also admit that there is mismanagement in the garden. We have never asked labourers to work only for six or seven hours instead of eight hours and they should manage things well,” Subba said.

On low-productivity, Subba said: “Most of the gardens are converting into organic gardens and production is bound to come down by at least 30 per cent. The management should also start uprooting old tea bushes and start replanting to boost production.”

The Telegraph

Starbucks bets on India's cafe revolution, tea culture

2011-01-30T09:51:00.000+05:30

STARBUCKS will soon appear on Indian streets as the US group bets on lifestyle changes that are turning the tea-drinking country into a booming market for cafes.

India's appetite for the bitter brew has never been stronger, with its overwhelmingly young population opting to while away time in shiny Western-style cafes instead of the traditional coffeehouses.

Starbucks said earlier this month it will enter India through a tie-up with the country's biggest coffee producer, Tata Coffee, sourcing beans from south India and roasting them locally. The first store is expected in six months.

Arun Bhardwaj, vice president for emerging business at Starbucks, told AFP by email that it was "premature" to talk specifics about the group's strategy, but it is expected to adapt its menu to local tastebuds.

US chains Pizza Hut and McDonald's have "Indianised" their offerings, selling Indian cottage cheese pizzas and spicy potato burgers to woo subcontinental consumers.

Despite its reputation for tea, India has a long-standing coffee-drinking tradition, particularly in the southern state of Tamil Nadu where it is often brewed overnight, then mixed with milk and sugar before being served.

But old-school cafes like the 53-year-old Indian Coffee House chain, which popularised south Indian filter coffee, are now struggling for profit while hipper, Western-style chains are opening outlets every month.

A South Indian filter coffee typically costs as little as 10 rupees (S$0.28) at small restaurants, but increasingly affluent Indians in urban areas are choosing to sip on cappuccinos costing 75 rupees instead.

The change in tastes has less to do with a fondness for Italian espresso, say analysts, and more to do with the social cachet conferred by the beverage in class-conscious India, analysts say. Harish Bijoor, a brand specialist said "unlike tea, coffee particularly espresso-based coffee isn't easy to make.

It takes a lot more preparation, so there's an aura of sophistication around it." But the US coffee giant is far from the first to see the potential in the growing affluence of India's young population.

In addition to the Cafe Coffee Day chain with more than 1,000 outlets, foreign-owned chains Barista Lavazza and Costa Coffee are already present.

Move to standardise CTC tea grades

2011-01-28T10:01:00.000+05:30

The Tea Board of India has finally decided to standardise the grades of different types of Crush-Tear-Curl (CTC) tea produced in the country. Of the total tea produced by the country, about 90 per cent is CTC. The Deputy Chairman of the Ta Board Roshni Sen issued a circular on January 20 in this respect. This instruction of the Board will come into effect from March 1 next, said tea industry sources here.

It is expected that implementation of the instruction would be able to bring about uniformity of the CTC teas produced in the country in respect of their grades and would thus augment their marketing.

Assam Tea Planters’ Association (ATPA) chairman AR Kasera hailed the above decision of the Tea Board as a step in the right direction. “It will now remove confusion in the domestic as well as the overseas markets on the matter,” he said.

Tea industry sources said that the issue was under consideration of the Board for quite a long time. The latest decision of the Board came after several rounds of discussion with the producers’ associations, auction buyer associations and six auction organizers.

Now, following the rationalization and standardization of the grades of CTC teas, there will be eight grades of CTC Broken Leaf, three grades of CTC Fanning and eight grades of CTC Dust contrary to the more than 60 existing grades.

It needs mention here that in Kenya, there are only four primary grades and three secondary grades. But due to the different varieties of tea produced by India, it is acceptable to have more grades in India than in Kenya. The Tea Board directive is applicable to all CTC teas manufactured in India and applicable for all routes of marketing – auction and non-auction, said the sources.

In this respect, North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) chairman Bidyananda Barkakoty said that due to the different varieties of tea produced in India it is acceptable to have more grades than Kenya.

Grade of tea with its nomenclature is a tool for identification for the purpose of marketing. Tea is classified into different grades during the manufacturing process. However, confusion very often surfaces among the buyers and sellers on the identification of specific grades for the tea of the same quality.

To remove this confusion, tea grades are now sought to be standardised basing on the two parameters of ‘stainless steel wire mesh size’ and ‘thickness of standard wire gauge,’ said the sources.

Source: The Assam Tribune

Hard Currency Rift Declines Indian Tea Export

2011-01-27T08:21:00.000+05:30

The Tea Board of India on Tuesday warned the country that hard currency rifts between New Delhi and Tehran threatens India's export of tea to Iran.

In its latest report, the council announced that the level of export of India's tea in the fiscal year 2010-2011 will reduce by over 10 million kilograms.

Deputy chairman of the board, Roshni Sen, said decline in production is the reason behind the decrease in its export.

It is predicted that this year, India's export of tea will decrease between 8 million kilograms to 10 million kilograms, Fars News Agency reported.

Heavy rainfalls in northern India have adversely affected the quality of tea production in the country. Therefore, it is forecast that India's tea production would amount to 969 million kilograms only this year. Some 70 percent of tea plantations of India are situated in the northern region of the country.

Sen also said, "Although the production of tea in southern India has increased, growth of this production level is not enough to counter reduction of production in the north."

She also said restrictions imposed on trade ties with Iran are another important factor for reduction of India's export of tea.

India exports tea to Egypt, Russia, Iran and Pakistan. Reduction in India's tea export will leave a large impact on the global tea market.

She recalled that at present her country focuses on markets in Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Egypt and America, but it also seeks to expand export of tea to Singapore and South American countries. Germany and Japan have also called for importing high quality Indian tea.

The domestic demand for tea in India grows by up to three percent per annum. India uses some 80 percent of its tea production for domestic purposes.

India's crude oil imports from Iran faced an impasse after the Reserve Bank of India declared that a regional clearinghouse that involved the Iranian central bank could no longer be used to settle oil and gas transactions between the two countries.

Indian oil industry officials are keenly awaiting a solution as India imports 80 percent of the 184 million tons of crude oil it refines every year, and Iran accounts for 16 percent of these purchases, making it the second-biggest supplier, after Saudi Arabia, Economic Times reported. The dispute has not yet been resolved.

© Iran Daily 2011

Shield for tea leaves

2010-09-06T10:01:00.000+05:30

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has come out with a specialty oil that can protect tea leaves from pests.

The company introduced HP Tea Spray Oil in Calcutta this week. The product has its roots in the base oil that goes into the making of lubricant oil.

R.S. Rao, executive director (direct sales) of HPCL, said the market size of tea spray oil would be 5,000 tonnes a year.

“We are kicking off in Calcutta because this is the hub for tea gardens in north Bengal and Assam. Going forward, we will launch in south India,” Rao said.

HPCL plans to export the oil to tea producing countries such as Kenya and Sri Lanka.

Source: The Telegraph

Small tea growers usher in winds of change in Assam

2010-09-06T10:00:00.000+05:30

A green revolution is sweeping Assam, empowering many people for the first time and rejuvenating the state's economy. Small tea gardens now dot the landscape as more and more people turn their backyards into mini tea plantations.

It does not really matter if you have a small patch of vegetable garden to spare or a big mass of land.

According to the All Assam Small Tea Growers Association (AASTGA), the number of small tea growers has swelled to 65,000 in the last two decades. And it is on the rise.

Assam currently produces around 480 million kg of tea. Around 30 percent of this comes from small tea growers.

Lakhi Gogoi is one of the many who has his own tea garden - Rajashree Tea Estate - in the upper Assam district of Tinsukia.

'In 2008, my green tea leaf production touched 80,000 kg. In 2009, it rose to 81,000 and this year I am expecting it to touch 100,000. Tea business is good business,' Gogoi told IANS.

Although Gogoi worked in a well-known tea company earlier, he had no knowledge of the business.

'I am well accustomed to the knowhows of tea cultivation, spraying pesticides, pruning and plucking. It was a matter of time before I realized that if the big tea companies can grow these plants and reap such big benefits, so can I,' he said.

'After years of toying with the idea, I began my venture in 1996 on a small patch of land. Over the years, I scaled up my operations and now grow tea in 50 bighas of land,' Gogoi said.

Depending on the market conditions, the price of green tea leaves varies between Rs.12 and Rs.18 a kg.

Said an AASTGA official: 'By growing tea in underutilized uplands, small tea growers have brought in a green revolution in Assam by bringing in huge socio-economic changes.'

'More than 900,000 people are involved in the small tea growing business in Assam. Almost 250, 000 hectares of land is covered for such plantations. They contribute to 29 percent of the total tea produced by Assam, which is 14 percent of the total tea production of India,' the official added.

Even farmers in villages, who traditionally grew vegetables, are now opting for tea cultivation. 'Tea cultivation brings much higher profits and is a steady source of income,' said D. Bora, a farmer.

In a state where unemployment looms large, youth are the biggest beneficiaries.

Rajiv Sharma, 28, decided to try his hands in tea plantation two years ago. He started small -- growing tea bushes in the backyard of his house. And there has been no looking back since.

'My parents were initially sceptical and said tea production has always been the big companies' cup of tea. But I was willing to take the risk. I started small and now have the capacity to invest in more land for more plantations,' Sharma said.

Unlike the big tea companies like McLeod Russel India and Goodricke, small tea growers do not have their own factories. They sell their leaves either to the big firms or smaller private factories which in turn manufacture and market it under different brands.

One of the challenges that the small tea growers are facing is that of maintaining quality.

'Not all growers are aware of banned chemicals. All they seek for are strong pesticides which will kill the pests - thus making the wrong choice. As a result, this tea does not get a good price at tea auctions,' Sharma told IANS.

It is for this reason tea leaves of small growers are manufactured and branded differently from the main brands by the big tea companies. Nevertheless, almost 25 percent of the tea manufactured by the tea moghuls are from the small growers.

While the small tea growers are helping to change the socio-economic condition in Assam, they hardly get any help from the state government.

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia's recent announcement of a special scheme to provide financial assistance to the community has, however, given them some hope.

'If the government is seriously thinking of helping us, it will be great. We are after all an unorganized sector. Let's just hope it is not another empty promise,' said Gogoi.

Source: IANS

July tea output dips 3.2% on pest attack

2010-09-06T09:59:00.000+05:30

Mumbai: India’s tea output fell for a second straight month in July after a pest attack trimmed crop size in the biggest producing region of the country, hardening local prices, Tea Board said in a statement on Friday.
Tea output in July fell 3.15% to 123 million kg from 127 million kg a year ago, it said. The output in June had fallen by 11.9% to 104 million kg.

A pest attack of helopeltis adversely affected tea gardens in the northeastern state of Assam, India’s top producer.

“Impact of pest attack has been easing. August production numbers are likely to be steady to slightly lower,” said an official at Calcutta Tea Traders’ Association.

Despite a drop in June and July production, the south Asian country’s tea output in Jan-July stood at 462.2 million kg, up 0.45% on year due to higher crop in Jan-April.

Tea prices of different grades in the world’s second biggest producer have risen by nearly a tenth in the past two months on a supply squeeze.

Tea Board chairman Basudeb Banerjee told Reuters in July that the country’s tea output in 2010 is likely to fall below 2009 level.

India exports CTC variety of tea, mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK, and the premium orthodox variety of tea to Iraq, Iran and Russia.

Source: Reuters

Elephant found dead at Assam tea estate

2010-09-03T07:54:00.000+05:30

Nagaon, Assam: A male elephant has been found dead at the courtyard of a house inside Kalidan tea estate near Nagaon in Assam. It's unusual for an elephant to die in such circumstances unless electrocuted. Workers at the tea estate insist the elephant died of natural causes.

255 elephants have died in Assam as a result of conflicts with humans between 1990 and 2003. Most of them were poisoned or electrocuted.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh announced earlier this week that the government will declare the elephant a National Heritage Animal as part of a new initiative.

The Elephant Task Force - made up of 12 members - has also recommended setting up a National Elephant Conservation Authority, similar to the existing National Tiger Conservation Authority. The task force has presented the government with a comprehensive plan for how to protect elephants in the wild and in captivity, and alleviate the human-elephant conflict.

Source: NDTV

Planters face state pay-up pressure - Interim hike hope for tea sector

2010-09-02T18:41:00.002+05:30

Darjeeling, Sept. 1: The tea industry, under “extreme” pressure from the CPM-led state government which has its eyes on next year’s Assembly polls, is likely to accept the demand for an interim wage hike for its workers in north Bengal. The next round of talks to discuss the wage hike will be held in Calcutta on September 9.

In the last five rounds of meeting between the state, trade unions and the garden managements, the planters were unwilling to accept any interim hike since the 2008 wage agreement is in place till March next year. The 3 lakh workers in the gardens of Darjeeling and the Dooars and Terai receive a daily wage of Rs 67. The workers had demanded an interim wage hike because of the rise in prices of essential commodities.

“During the last meeting, we were under extreme pressure from state labour minister Anadi Sahu and we are now actively considering an interim hike,” said an industry source. The meeting was held in Calcutta on August 30.

Observers believe that the Bengal minister is exerting pressure on the industry with an eye on the coming Assembly elections. “The Left has much at stake in north Bengal. With the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad making substantial inroads, it is a difficult time for the Left in north Bengal now,” said an observer.

Since setting up base, the tribal outfit has been making inroads into the Dooars and the Terai displacing dominant unions like the CPM’s Citu and the Congress’s Intuc. The loyalty switch of workers that followed was such that during a strike called by the Citu on July 5, almost 80 per cent of the 227 gardens were open in the Dooars.

Till recently, the tea management was unwilling to budge from its stand to go for an interim hike. But now, when it has changed its stand, the Adivasi Parishad has made it clear that it does not want an interim hike but a new agreement where the daily wage of workers will be Rs 250. “There is still some possibility of the negotiations falling through as the Adivasi Parishad is adamant that instead of an interim wage hike, the workers should be paid Rs 250 per day. This would be very difficult to accept,” a source said.

“So far the management had agreed only to repair the workers’ houses,” the source added.

The management is, however, pinning hopes on the labour minister to also impress on the Adivasi Parishad to accept the interim wage hike and keep the demand for Rs 250 daily wage for discussion at a latter stage. “Since the minister is exerting pressure on us which has forced us to change our minds, it is only right that he should impress on the unions, especially the Adivasi Parishad to be flexible,” said the source.

Sandip Mukherjee, secretary, Darjeeling Tea Association, said there were indications of a positive outcome in the next meeting.

“I can only say that the outcome should be positive,” said Mukherjee.

Source: The Telegraph

Garden siege over power demand

2010-09-02T18:40:00.002+05:30

Alipurduar, Aug. 31: More than a thousand workers of Subhasini Tea Estate confined the garden manager to his office for 10 hours today demanding the restoration of electricity lines that had been disconnected five months ago.

The siege that began at 7.30am was lifted at 5.30pm after the manager, Anindya Roy, assured the protesters that he would sit with the trade unions on Thursday to thrash out the issue. Work in the garden in Kalchini was hampered throughout the day.

According to Abdul Hamid, the unit secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad’s Progressive Tea Workers’ Union, the management had begun to deduct Rs 350 a month from the workers’ wages as electricity charges from October last year causing widespread resentment among the workers.

Earlier, the management had charged a worker between Rs 200 and Rs 225 a month for power consumption. But the workers protested the sudden rise in deduction from their wages and said they were ready to pay Rs 100 a month for electricity supply for 12 hours a day. Earlier, the supply was for 24 hours.

“The management did not heed our plea and instead disconnected the power lines from every worker’s quarters from April 1 this year. Since then we are living in tremendous hardship, especially the elders and the students. So we decided to gherao the manager till some assurance was given,” Hamid said.

The PTWU leader said the workers had submitted a proposal that electricity meters be installed in each quarters and the amount consumed would be paid for. But that demand was also rejected by the management, he said.

The garden has 1,200 workers.

Around 3pm, police from Hashimara outpost arrived at the garden office and tried to persuade the protesters to lift the gherao but failed.

As the manager was feeling uneasy — garden sources said the agitating workers did not allow him to drink water or use the washroom — the police asked the central leaders of the Parishad from Hashimara to come and negotiate. After the talks with the Adivasi leaders, the agitation was withdrawn.

While the manager was not available for comments, Amitangshu Chakrabarty, the secretary of the Indian Tea Planters’ Association’s Birpara branch, of which the garden is a member, said Roy’s confinement was uncalled for.

“It was very undemocratic of the workers to confine the manager to his office in this manner. What the workers have been demanding is unreasonable. However, let us see what takes place in the meeting scheduled for Thursday,” Chakrabarty said.

Source: The Telegraph

Tea imports down 10.85% at 9.2 mn kg in Jan-June

2010-08-30T06:50:00.002+05:30

Tea imports to India fell by 10.85 per cent to 9.2 million kg in the first six months of the current year.

The country imported 10.32 million kg of tea in the April-June period last year, the Tea Board said in a statement.

Though the maximum quantum of tea came from neighbouring Nepal, its exports, however, were down when compared with the corresponding period last year. Nepal exported 2.35 million kg of tea during April-June, 2010, as against 3.04 million kg in the same period last year.

On the other hand, Vietnamese tea imports improved to 1.96 million kg in the first six months of this year from 1.92 million kg in the year-ago period.

Iran also increased its shipments to India by 1 million kg during the January-June period to 1.18 million kg, compared to the same period last year.

India, the world's largest consumer of tea, mainly imports tea from 18 countries around the world, including Papua New Guinea.

The imported tea, however, is hardly used for domestic consumption and is mainly re-exported to Iraq. A fall in the number of contracts with that country have impacted the shipments, an industry official said.

Tea production in India, the second biggest producer of tea in the world, was 979 million kg last year.

India accounts for about 28 per cent of world tea production and 14 per cent of trade. There are about 1,600 tea estates in India. The industry employs more than two million people.

Source: PTI

Positive on Tata Global Beverages: Rajesh Jain

2010-08-29T10:17:00.002+05:30

ajesh Jain, Market Strategist, speaks to ET Now about Tata Global Beverages.

What are your reasons for liking Tata Global Beverages your target on it and why do you like it?

Tata Global Beverages is a very strong play on the tea sector. We discuss this a couple of weeks ago on the same show when I had given a set of 4 food processing stocks, 3 in the multinational space and Tata Global was a fourth one. Tata Global currently enjoys the benefit of improving tea prices thanks to the crop problems that have besieged the East India plantations. So that should really help in better realisations and Tata Tea being an integrated tea company would be able to lock into some stock profits and hence there is an opportunistic profit gain for the company there. In terms of the overall business model what is exciting is what it will be doing with Himalaya since it has acquired Mount Everest and then it has this tie up with Pepsico for affordable water as well as ready to drink health beverages. Recently they have announced the foray into foods again on the wellness platform and it would be interesting what are the kind of launches to be seen there but both the affordable water, the Himalaya drinking water as well as the food segment will take some time to acquire critical mass and start contributing to the top line and the bottom line.

I think the exciting potential in Tata Global Beverages apart from tea, team mind you was 85% of the company even today and it has a lot of sales overseas. It recently has decided to garner greater than 10% share in Sri Lankan and Pakistan markets. It already straddles a lot of the western markets. The upside in Tata Global Beverages or Tata Tea as it was known has to be the coffee business. Today it is a commodity supplier but there is tremendous upside from branding out there. We already have two very large brands in the country and I do not think there is a room for a local brand to really shake the packing order there but I think in the export market Tata Tea is already working very aggressively and I think that can give you over a 2 to 3 year time frame the big kicker in the stock. In the near term 12 to 18 months I hope the stock should be able to give a 150 which is a fair return from the current levels.

Source: ET

Pest attacks may eat into India's tea production this year

2010-08-25T08:44:00.002+05:30

New Delhi, Aug 24 (PTI) India''s tea production may be slightly less this year year because of lower production in Assam due to excess rain and pest attacks.
"Tea production is set to fall slightly. But, it is difficult to peg the decline now," an industry official said.

Quoting the Tea Board data, the official said that during the first five months of the current year ending May, domestic tea output increased by 8.8 per cent to 234.93 million kg against 215.84 million kg in same period last year.
However, production started falling soon after. The June output was lower by 11.8 per cent to 104 million kg narrowing the first five month''s gains of 19 million kgs down to just 4-5 million kgs over the same period last year, he said.
Indian Tea Association has already mentioned production in Assam, the largest producing state, is likely to fall by two million kgs in July as all the major tea groups operating there reporting significantly lower output.

"It is apprehended that with this decline and with the outlook in August also reportedly uneven - with poor weather persisting in several parts - it would be difficult to make up the already significant decline of 10 million kgs which has been registered to date in North India," it added.

World''s largest tea producer McLeod Russel, however, said that India''s production is likely to remain stable at 975-980 million kgs in current year against 979 million kgs last year.

"North India may produce 15-20 million kg less tea during the year over the last year. However, South India is likely to fill in the gap with a better production than last year," its Chief Financial Officer Kamal Baheti said.

Baheti said that the North Indian production would dip as a result of excess rains and pest attacks, while South India would gain from favourable weather conditions.
Tea Board had earlier said that the production is likely to touch one trillion kg this year.

Source: PTI

Starbucks in talks to sell Darjeeling tea

2010-08-23T21:23:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA: Starbucks, the world’s largest coffeehouse chain, may soon be serving Darjeeling tea in its more than 17,000 outlets across 49 countries.

The Seattle-based coffee retailer has approached the Tea Board for a licence to import and sell premium Darjeeling tea, Tea Board chairman Basudeb Banerjee told ET.

“They have initiated correspondence with us and have sought some clarification on the present CTM (Certification of Trade Mark) licence,” said Mr Banerjee.

Certification of Trade Mark from the Tea Board is a mandatory for all producers, manufacturers, packagers, blenders, exporters, and traders who wish to sell tea labelled as Darjeeling tea.

The certification is awarded only for teas produced by the 87 authorised Darjeeling estates or gardens and sold as single source or blended Darjeeling teas. The board gets an annual licence fee from all licence holders.

Starbucks, which bought Tazo Tea for $8.1 million to enter tea business in 1999, subsequently teamed up with McLeod Russel India (MRIL), Apeejay Tea, Warren Tea and Chamong Tee Exports to sources teas for the international market.

“It is already present in the Assam tea space. But for selling pure Darjeeling tea in their outlets they need a CTM licence,” said Mr Banerjee.

Nobody is entitled to use the word Darjeeling on packets of tea without a CTM licence, even if the teas originate from the authorised estates.

Source: ET

Tea fund gains momentum as banks pitch in

2010-08-23T08:07:00.002+05:30

KOLKATA | COIMBATORE: The replantation and rejuvenation of the country’s ageing tea bushes under the special purpose tea fund (SPTF) scheme has gathered momentum as a consortium of four banks led by Kolkata-based Uco Bank has come forward to help the tea industry. The replanting of ageing tea bushes is the need of the hour as the domestic consumption of tea is increasing at a rate of 3-3.5%.

Estates in north India (Assam and West Bengal) are more pro-active in availing SPTF. According to a senior Tea Board official, 1,686 tea estates have availed SPTF, of which 616 are from north India. The rest 85 estates are from south India. According to the SPTF scheme, 50% of funds will come as a loan from banks, 25% will be provided by the central government as subsidy, and the rest 25% will be borne by the borrowers.

G. Boriah, director (tea development) of Tea Board told ET: “Till date, `71.74 crore has been disbursed as subsidy while `28.80 crore has been disbursed as loan. Initially, there was some problem in getting loan from banks under SPTF. But we had a discussion with Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and things were sorted out. Now the banks are showing interest to help the tea industry under the SPTF scheme.”

Interestingly, since the financial condition of the tea sector has improved in last two years, tea companies are taking much lower amount as loans. “Sometimes it is said that SPTF has not picked up the way as was expected. Actually in the last two years, the domestic demand for tea has picked up which has resulted in price rise. The tea companies were not keen to uproot tea bushes as this would have resulted in crop loss.

Prices of tea had recovered after a gap of almost 9 years and, therefore, the tea companies were not willing to lose this opportunity. However, the replantation and rejuvenation is gradually picking up. From Tea Board we are also organising roadshows to popularise the scheme,” Mr Boriah added.

However, SPTF take-off in southern tea estates has not been encouraging. The difficult terrain, labour shortage, and region specific issues like ban on earth moving equipment in Nilgiris and certain parts falling under the disputed areas of Nilgiris-Wayanad region are the major roadblocks to make full use of the special purpose fund. The target of 2.5% per annum could not be achieved in south India due to these factors.

Source: Economic Times

Rain, pests cause more than a storm in tea industry's cup

2010-08-22T13:17:00.000+05:30

Heavy rain, coupled with pest attacks, pulled down the bottomline of the tea industry in the first quarter.

Financial performance of tea companies – bulk and branded – together showed revenues from tea increased three per cent to Rs 1,417.33 crore while operating profit dropped 38.51 per cent to Rs 151.94 crore. Margins on tea sales declined 40.28 per cent.

“Though the first quarter is not indicative for the industry, financial performance was affected due to crop loss,” Aditya Khaitan, managing director of the world’s largest bulk tea producer, McLeod Russel India, said.

The industry has seen substantial crop loss in North Bengal and Assam. Assam saw a production decline over two successive months—May and June—in 2010. While during May, the region witnessed a three million kg loss in crop against the corresponding period of last year, June has seen the maximum loss in crop in both Assam and West Bengal.

In the first quarter, average of North Bengal and Assam tea prices was at Rs 119.12 a kg, compared to Rs 129.18 a kg. In South India, however, crop was higher than the corresponding period, which translated to a steeper drop in prices. The average price of South Indian tea during April to June stood at Rs 66.36 as against Rs 86.23 a kg. Branded tea company, Tata Global Beverages, faced severe erosion in margins as the bulk tea market made a strong opening beginning of the season.

Even as the first quarter performance looks gloomy, prices are likely to increase in the coming months on crop loss.

Stagnant production in India, shortfall in production in the quality belt of Assam and carry forward shortage should lead to firmer prices in India, said an industry representative.

“The crop situation particularly in Upper Assam (concentrated in the Doom Dooma area) has again been severely affected with nearly all the major tea groups operating in that region namely Apeejay Tea, Assam Co, M K Shah Exports, McLeod Russel and Warren Tea reporting significantly lower production,” the Indian Tea Association (ITA) said.

According to ITA estimates, July showed a further decline of two million kg of crop for the association’s members. “Even though South India was higher, the overall production in India is likely to be lower than last year,” Khaitan said.

TEA TROUBLE
Company	Margins on tea sales		Growth in %
	Margins on tea sales		Tea revenue	Total revenue	Net profit
	Jun ‘09	Jun ‘10	Jun ‘10	Jun ‘10	Jun ‘10
Tata Global Beverages	16.06	9.24	4.15	7.75	LTP
Mcleod Russel	25.81	15.39	1.36	1.36	-39.54
Goodricke Group	18.37	13.62	2.95	3.14	-25.53
Jay Shree Tea	27.18	18.40	-10.98	23.18	-8.20
Warren Tea	21.9	14.52	16.99	16.99	-14.84
Harrisons Malayalam	16.84	-20.91	-17.74	10.90	PTL
Assam Company India	32.54	42.78	3.55	13.78	14.68
Bombay Burmah	19.5	22.18	0.52	16.12	44.57
Asian Tea	3.07	2.62	13.48	13.48	44.00
Rossell Tea	29.92	24.71	14.72	21.19	4.83
Total for industry	17.95	10.72	2.93	8.56	79.95
LTP; Loss to profit PTL; profit to loss *

With only five months of tea production left with the tail-end of November and December, the industry expects the year to close with a shortfall of 40 million kg, which implies that pipeline shortage at the beginning of next season would be to the tune of 90 million kg.

Source: Business Standard

Deals Brewing Over A Cuppa In Africa

2010-05-24T08:44:00.000+05:30

When the diversified RPG Group — better known for its power, tyre and retail interests — announced last week that it is eyeing gardens in Africa to expand its tea business, it may not have raised many eyebrows among tea barons. The only question could have been that why did it take the business-savvy Goenkas, who own the conglomerate, so long to join the African party.

For an industry where acquisitions in the past decade were few and far between and limited within the country, the last nine months have witnessed a dramatic change. Indian tea companies — flush with cash following a demand-supply mismatch and fired by a new love for Africa — are furiously chasing deals in countries such as Uganda, Rwanda and the like to emerge as bigger and stronger players.

If McLeod Russel — a Williamson Magor Group company and the world's largest tea producer — set the ball rolling with its acquisition of a controlling interest in a tea factory in Rwanda in August 2009, followed by its takeover of six estates in Uganda in January this year, B K Birla-group firm Jayshree Tea & Industries has not been far behind in the deal-making game, snapping up one company in Uganda and two in Rwanda last month.

While the African buys, undertaken through wholly owned subsidiary Borelli Tea Holdings, added 16.7 million kg to McLeod's existing tea capacity raising it to about 100 million kg, Jayshree Tea gained slightly over 5 million kg through its overseas foray. Jayshree Tea produced just over 23 million kg last year through its gardens in India. Both McLeod and Jayshree, however, say that their Africa adventures have only just begun and competition is going to get stiffer from now on.

"There were eight companies vying for the Ugandan firm (Kijura Tea Company) we bought, which just goes to show the level of interest there is in Africa at the moment," Jayshree Tea managing director D P Maheshwari said.

"Uganda, particularly, may see a lot more action going forward." On his part, McLeod Russel MD & Indian Tea Association (ITA) chairman Aditya Khaitan pointed out that just about any market in Africa is up for grabs. "Opportunities are there everywhere — be it in Kenya, Malawi or even Mozambique. It is up to the entrepreneurs to decide where they want to go," he added.

So what is it about Africa that is driving the interest of Indian tea giants? Analysts say it is a combination of climate and costs. As in north India, the weather patterns in different African countries enable them to grow tea of the CTC variety, unlike India's principal rival in south Asia, Sri Lanka, which grows orthodox tea.

African teas also blend nicely with north Indian teas. More importantly, tea companies can be assured of large landholdings in Africa, "getting which is something next to impossible in India at the moment", Khaitan said. "If you consider that the bulk of the costs in a plantation is accounted for by labour, the savings accruing on this front in Africa is quite considerable," Maheshwari explained.

Dhunseri Group chairman and former ITA chief C K Dhanuka, who is also examining the viability of having a presence in Africa, said the other big attraction of that continent is that it is still possible to get gardens at "reasonable prices".

McLeod Russel, for instance, only had to shell out $25 million (excluding the debt takeover) for its acquisition of Rwenzori Tea Investments in Uganda that gave the Indian company access to 15 million kg of tea capacity in Uganda.

For the deal in Rwanda, that added 1.7 million kg to its capacity, McLeod arm Borelli Tea Holdings had to pay $2.75 million.

So is Africa going to be the potential game changer for Indian tea? Khaitan has no doubt in his mind that the continent can only spell good news for his industry even in the short-to-medium term. "The stigma about Africa is no longer there. Africa is now the place to be," he said.

Source: Times of India

Tea exports grow 22.8%

2010-05-23T07:54:00.000+05:30

Calcutta, May 22: India’s tea exports rose 22.8 per cent to 47.2 million kg during the first three months of the year from 38.5 million kg during the corresponding period a year ago.

Favourable weather during the last few months of 2009 has boosted the total output by 14.9 per cent during January-March 2010 to 94.1 million kg from 81.9 million kg a year ago.

According to the latest statistics published by both the Tea Board of India and the Indian Tea Association, production rose 9 per cent during March to 49 million kg from 45 million kg a year earlier. Exports increased to 17.96 million kg in March from 14.22 million kg during the same period in 2009.

Output in north India rose more than 2 million kg in March against a shortfall of 2.9 million kg during the first two months of this year. Normally, production in north India drops after the winter season as the leaves are damaged by frost.

Output in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka also improved to 19.17 million kg from 17.69 million kg. Tea output was lower in Assam, while Dooars, Terai and Darjeeling have reported an increase in production.

However, production in Darjeeling and Dooars could be impacted during the coming months because of the lack of rainfall in March, experts said. But lower Assam looks promising after continuous rainfall. Production was also extended in most estates during the lean months of November and December because of high prices.

Source: The Telegraph

Further strengthening of rupee may impact tea exports: ITA

2010-05-23T07:53:00.002+05:30

Further strengthening of the rupee against the dollar and euro may adversely impact Indian tea exports, an industry official said.

"Though the price of tea is ruling high internationally, the appreciation of the rupee against the dollar and euro is a matter of concern for exporters. This could have an impact on exports," Indian Tea Association joint secretary Sujit Patra told PTI.

India had produced 979 million kg of tea last year, out of which 200.2 million kg had been exported to about 60-65 countries at an average price of Rs 136.65 per kg.

The rupee is currently being traded at Rs 46.75 against the dollar, down from Rs 47.4 in the previous year. The rupee also appreciated against the euro and was valued at Rs 57.69 as on May 20, 2010, against Rs 65.36 on May 21, 2009.

Fierce competition already exists among exporting nations such as Sri Lanka, Kenya and China to achieve prominence in the global tea market, which is yet to recover from the recession.

"The fall in rupee could impact the margin for Indian tea exporters as the cost of production is highest in the world," Patra said.

In the first three months of the current year, India had exported 47.2 million kg of tea, up 22.8 per cent from the same period a year ago.

‘No plans to revise import duty’

2010-05-14T09:31:00.000+05:30

The government has no plans to revise the import duty on tea in the near future, minister of state for commerce and industry Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday.

A section of the Indian tea industry has been demanding that the import duty on tea currently pegged at 100% should be reviewed in the light of massive influx of cheaper tea varieties from Vietnam and Nepal at the cost of Indian tea. “We have no plans to bring down the duty on tea import. Not currently,” Scindia said during his inaugural address at the 19th Session of Inter-governmental Group (IGG).

Clarifying the government’s stand, the minister added, “Tea production is improving. So are prices. The production is going to touch the threshold of 1 billion kg this season.”

On rebranding of Indian tea to make it more acceptable to foreign customers, the minister said a task force has been set up—of which he is the head—to provide ‘pragmatic solutions’ to the hurdles faced by the sector.

“Making tea suppliers capable of matching the global standards in the domestic and world market is essential,” Scindia said, adding that there is an urgent need to augment domestic production to compete in the world trade .

“There are lots of supply side constraints which we are trying to address through the Special Purpose Tea Fund. We are urging the industry to take up the replantation so that India could regain its number one position,” the minister said.

Scindia also discounted talk that the global economic crisis had any impact on Indian tea exports last year. “Despite the recession, tea export has been consistent and the government congratulates the industry for that,” the minister said.

India is the world's largest tea grower. It produced 960 million kg of tea in 2009-10 and exported close to 200 million kg, up from 190 million kg in 2008-09. “The government has raised the budget allocation for tea sector to Rs 800 crore in the Eleventh Plan from Rs 350 crore,” he added.

Source: Financial Express

Higher output fails to cool tea prices

2010-05-14T09:25:00.001+05:30

Despite a higher crop output of 87 million kg in major tea producing countries — Kenya, Sri Lanka and India — prices are constant, as the cumulative deficit stands at 125 million kg.

After last year’s deficit crop, Kenya and Sri Lanka have reported a higher output of 75 million kg during January-March while south India registered an increase of 12 million kg in output for the first three months of the calendar year.

The three countries account for 80 per cent of the black tea production. Yet prices are holding out across the world markets.

Prices in Kenya and Sri Lanka have a strong undertone and are higher by 40-70 cents over last year. In India, markets have surplus plain teas at the moment, but good teas are in short supply. So, prices are higher by Rs 10-20 than the previous year.

Ullas Menon, secretary general of the United Planters Association of South India (Upasi) said, the average price of south Indian tea is Rs 111.93 a kg while last year the price was Rs 94.39 a kg. But Menon thinks it is a temporary blip.

“There is no reason for prices to fall. Kenya and Sri Lanka are seeing a bumper crop, but prices are firm. North India prices are buoyant,” he said.

Aditya Khaitan, chairman, Indian Tea Association (ITA), said prices in India would hold out.

Not just in India, figures indicate that they could hold water for world markets as well. The cumulative deficit of the last five years is to the tune of 200 million kg.

In India, production is expected at the same level as last year’s 979 million kg. Menon said since in April there was a dry spell, the crop would be at the same level as last year, even though it was significantly higher till March.

If the output remains at the same level, the season would again end with a deficit. “Each year, consumption in India grows by 30-35 million kg,” Khaitan said. Last year, there was a deficit of around 40 million kg.

Source: Business Standard

Tea production may touch one billion kg: Board

2010-05-14T09:23:00.000+05:30

India's tea production may touch the one billion kg mark this year with the meteorological department predicting a normal monsoon, a highly-placed Tea Board of India official said here today.

"With the prediction of a normal monsoon, the production of tea during the year is likely to be in the region 990 million to one billion kg," Tea Board Chairman Basudeb Banerjee said.

Banerjee, however, said that it was difficult to predict the actual output since different regions of India receives varied degree of rainfall.

"As IMD predicts normal monsoon, the production is likely to be normal this year. However, you can't really predict since the distribution of rainfall is generally not even in India," he said.

Source: PTI

India's tea output up 9% in March

2010-05-08T13:48:00.001+05:30

NEW DELHI: Tea production in India, the world's largest grower, rose by nine per cent to 49 million kg in March, 2010, as against 45 million kg in the corresponding month last year, the Tea Board said today.

Similarly, tea exports increased to 17.96 million kg in March from 14.22 million kg in the same period of 2009, it said.

"Production has started picking up in the northeastern region from March. We expect good output in the coming months, as small growers are focusing on plantation," an official with the Tea Board said.

There has been a slight increase in output both in North and South India, he said.

According to official data, tea production in the plains of West Bengal and Assam, which harvest the best quality tea leaves in the world, increased to 29.82 million kg in March from 27.34 million kg in the same month last year.

Output in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka also improved to 19.17 million kg from 17.69 million kg in the review period, it said.

Cumulative production of tea in the first three months of 2010 rose by 16 per cent to 94 million kg against 81 million kg a year ago, it added.

In the 2009 calendar year, India's tea output stood at 979 million kg, against 981 million kg in the previous year.

Tea production is an annual cycle. The country has 5,79,000 hectares of land under tea cultivation, of which 1.53 lakh hectares is handled by small growers.

According to the Tea Board, the country is estimated to have shipped 200 million kg in the 2009-10 fiscal, against 190 million kg in the previous year.

Source: PTI

Change in name for Tata Tea

2010-05-08T13:46:00.000+05:30

Tata Tea has announced that it has been renamed as Tata Global Beverages Ltd, effective today, in keeping with its earlier-stated plans to diversify its product portfolio. The company said, the move “demonstrates our intent to build a new and strong global brand”.

Tata Global Beverages will consolidate all of the Tata Group’s various drinks units, retaining the existing brand names for now. The company has been looking to distinguish itself as more than just a tea company, and has been moving into the bottled water and fruit juices business.

Jay Shree Tea to acquire three firms in Africa

2010-05-01T11:13:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA: BK Birla-controlled Jay Shree Tea & Industries (JTIL) is snapping up tea companies in the dark continent. It will soon acquire 100% ownership in Uganda-based Kijura Tea through its investment arm, Birla Holdings, Dubai.

It will also buy 60% in Rwanda-based Mata Tea and Gisakura Tea through Tea Group Investment, a 50:50 JV between Rwanda Mountain Tea-SARL and Birla Holdings, Dubai.

Rwanda Mountain Tea is a privately-owned tea company headquartered in Kigali. It has two estates within its fold, Nyabihu and Rubaya. Today, the tea sector in Rwanda consists of six state-owned production units, Gisovu, Kitabi, Mata, Mulindi, Shagasha, Gisakura and four private owned production units, Cyohoha (SORWATHE), Pfunda (Pfunda Tea Company), Nyabihu and Rubaya (Rwanda Mountain Tea).

Nshili-Kivu is another privately-owned production unit with a factory still under construction. Jay Shree Tea on Monday informed BSE about its overseas acquisition plans for which a board meeting has been called on April 28.

Incidentally, ET had reported in its April 20 edition that JTIL was poised to acquire tea estates in Rwanda and Uganda and that a board meeting would be convened on April 28 to approve these overseas acquisitions.

JTIL will be the second-largest India tea company to acquire estates in Africa. In December 2009, BM Khaitan-controlled McLeod Russel India had acquired six tea estates in Uganda with a production of 15 million kg for Rs 140 crore. The twin acquisitions are likely to lift production capacity of Jay Shree Tea to nearly 29 million kg in 2010-11 from 23.5 million kg now.

DP Maheshwari, managing director of JTIL, said: “We have already signed an agreement to acquire Kijura Tea. It will come within JTIL’s fold from May 1. We will soon sign agreements with Rwandan tea estates. The Rwandan cabinet had approved our proposal only three days ago. The total cost of acquisition will be around Rs 30 crore.”

In its notice to BSE, Jay Shree Tea said it will also consider a stock-split option at the board meeting. The notice says: “To consider and recommend sub-division (stock-split) of the present face value of the equity shares of Rs 10 each of the company into smaller denomination as the board may deem fit, subject to the approval of the members of the company and to incorporate the resolution(s) for the said sub-division and amendment in the capital clause of the memorandum of association of the company in the agenda of the ensuing AGM of the company.”

The scrip rose 5.90% to Rs 307.45 BSE after the company said its board would meet on Wednesday to consider the African acquisitions.

Source: The Economic Times

Your time, my time

2010-05-01T11:11:00.000+05:30

For years, they have been waking up early and starting late. But India's northeast, which sees sunrise almost two hours before Mumbai, has decided it's time to set the clock right. The region's demand for a separate time zone has never been more vociferous

April is usually the cruelest month for India's northeastern states. Cyclonic storms lash the region with vengeance and rip apart homes and hopes. But in all this, the stoic people find things that keep them together and going, their famous fortitude in place.

This April, it is the loud revival of an issue that has always united the Seven Sisters. Amid the deafening thunder and incessant, deluging rains, people here are whipping up a different storm as they try to turn into a mass movement the debate for a separate time zone, something that was kicked off in the beginning of the millennium by a few scientists, academicians and media persons.

And from all accounts — with film personalities, students, engineers, even housewives and common folks joining in — the storm is gathering force and the movement gaining heavy momentum. "We are trying our best to make ourselves heard," says Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya, president, Northeast Students' Organisation (NESO). "We hope our voices will reach the deaf ears of the mainland people."

Chipping in, Bakul Saikia, a student of the prestigious Cotton College in Guwahati, says, "The Central government has to understand the need for more than one time zone in India. Separate time zones don't divide the country or its people."

He has a point. If the sun rises in Kohima at 4 am, it rises in Mumbai two hours later. "But this two-hour time gap is completely overlooked," says R K Barman of the Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC). "Office starts in the northeast six hours after daybreak as against four in the rest of India. Working and sleeping hours get postponed. The real clock differs from the official clock. Daylight hours are wasted, leading to higher power consumption."

The British knew better, though. The colonial rulers had set local time one hour ahead of IST for tea gardens, coal mines and the oil industry of Assam. Some of the tea gardens still follow the bagaan (garden) time.

People from the northeast have been demanding creation of a separate time zone for the seven states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura so that there is optimum utilisation of daylight. This, in turn, would result in conservation of energy. As the sun rises much earlier in this region than in the rest of the country, votaries here say it is only fair that they ask for the clock to be advanced by at least one-and-ahalf hours.

Internationally acclaimed filmmaker and former ISRO scientist Jahnu Barua says, "We are disadvantaged as far as the availability and usability of daylight and dark hours are concerned. We have gone behind by more than a decade in productivity since independence. Moreover, the total wastage of electricity at homes and offices of the region since Independence due to this is to the tune of Rs 94,900 crore."

Barua is not alone in his anxiety. It seems the entire region has woken up to the time zone call, organising a whirlwind of seminars, meetings and public addresses to drum up support for it.

In one such seminar recently in Aizawl, Mizoram chief minister Lal Thanhawla said the region suffers economically from sharing IST with the rest of the country. He added that the appeal should not be interpreted as a separatist move. "If India considers the northeast people as Indians, it must set an eastern time for the region."

Assam, too, is serious about this. Its state science and technology ministry has vowed the state will take up the issue with the Central government. The Centre, in turn, has set up a committee chaired by Ajay Mathur, the director-general of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), to examine the implications of another time zone in India. "The panel will primarily report on energy savings for which various options are being considered. Another time zone for the country is one of them. The report is expected to come out by January 2011," he says.

But it's not a conundrum easily solved. "There are complications and confusions involved in the process," says panel member A K Bhatnagar, who's also additional director general, India Meteorological Department. "We also have to consider the costs of implementation, changing of records and various other factors."

Ever since Independence, India has set its standard time based on its mean longitude of 82.5°E, which is five-and-a-half hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (abbreviated as UTC and sometimes written as Universal Time Coordinated, formerly and still widely called GMT). The IST longitude divides India into two parts, the eastern (comprising the seven states of the northeast, Sikkim, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand ) and the western part (rest of the country).

Politically, too, it is a hot potato. All said and done, a separate time zone may carry with it implications of a separate identity. With various separatist movements going on in the northeast for decades, some believe that if the region succeeds in getting a separate time zone, many could take it as a victory for their secessionist movements. Besides, a different time zone may further alienate an already alienated people from the rest of the country.

The National Physical Laboratory of India (NPL) also has reservations. P Banerjee, a senior scientist with NPL, rejected the feasibility of advancing the clock. "Instead of a separate time zone, we can advance office timings that are convenient to the (seven) states," he says. "The introduction of a Daylight Saving Time (DST) scheme for the country would solve the entire problem. Also, a separate time zone cannot be introduced arbitrarily against international conventions. Plus, there are logistical problems like keeping pace with national railway and airlines timings with two time zones."

Not that there has been no thought on the subject. In 2001, the Central government, following a PIL on the matter, set up a committee to examine the issue. While maintaining there was no need for a different time zone for the northeast, it recommended advancing office timings by a couple of hours.

In 2007, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy reopened debate on the need for more than one time zone in India when it mentioned the proposal in the context of saving power consumption in northeastern states. The government, those in the know say, has not shut off the issue from its mind.

The demand got a fresh impetus in the northeast when Bangladesh advanced its time by one hour in 2009, making it one-and-a-half-hours ahead of IST. The people of the region were shocked to realise that even as officegoers in the northeast reach the workplace at 10 am IST, their counterparts in Bangladesh have already completed 90 minutes of work. And Bangladesh is behind the northeast in getting daylight.

Back in 1784, when Benjamin Franklin, during his time as an American envoy to France, asked Parisians to economise on candles by waking up early to make optimum use of sunlight, it went on to become an axiom of practical wisdom and a lifestyle choice for many. More than 225 years later, the entire northeast of India is crying hoarse to make the Central government understand the meaning of Franklin's proverbial advice."

With the clamour growing, the region may just catch up on lost time.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SLICING UP TIME

Have you ever wondered why different cities have different sunrise and sunset times? Well, because apart from revolving around the sun, the earth is also rotating on its axis, and a place located in the east will see the sun earlier than one in the west. Earlier, time standards were local and most cities had a central clock tower which was set to noon when the sun appeared directly overhead and the shadow was the shortest. With the development of trade, the importance of standardisation of time was realised.

British railways took the first step and started using the local mean time of Greenwich as the standard time. Soon Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) became a universal standard. The earth is divided into 360 longitudes — imaginary lines running from north to south. The longitudes are distributed 180 eastward and 180 westward of Greenwich. As the earth roughly completes one rotation in 24 hours, the sun will be over each of the longitudes by turn every four minutes. In simple terms, when it is 12:00 noon at Greenwich, it will be 12:04 GMT at the 1°E longitude, because the sun has passed this longitude four minutes before Greenwich. Similarly, for a place 15°E of Greenwich, the local time will be GMT+one hour (15x4=60 minutes) and so on.

In common practice, standard time zones are defined at longitudes that are multiples of 15. As a result, the typical difference between two time zones is an hour. However, across the world, the adoption of time zones depends on various factors because standardising time, in effect, means people have to change their basic habits, which are normally in sync with the local time. Most nations maintain a balance between the economic and social implications of time standardisation as a country with a large east-west expanse will have remarkable differences in local times. For instance, India's longitudinal expanse results in a difference of 29.3° — almost two hours. To deal with this, countries like Russia, Canada and the US have multiple time zones.

Source: Times of India
By: SANGHAMITRA BARUAH

Tea industry unhappy over lopsided exemptions

2010-04-19T11:40:00.000+05:30

GUWAHATI, April 18 – Though Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, in his budget, gave certain benefits to the tea industry, the associations representing the industry are disappointed with the budget and they feel that the budget would benefit only a handful of bog gardens. The industry also felt that the Chief Minister, despite promises made earlier, failed to provide a level playing field to the tea gardens of Assam by extending the concessions given by other tea producing states of the country.

The Chief Minister announced the Government’s decision to extend the exemption of Rs 5 kg of agriculture income tax to tea exported through the Inland Container Depot, Amingaon for another year , but tea industry sources said that only a handful of gardens of the state export directly through the ICD. Sources said that at present, only around 30 million kilograms of tea is exported through ICD directly every year against the average annual production of around 450 million kilograms. That is why, the concession given by the Chief Minister would only benefit a handful of big gardens, sources added.

The exemption on entry tax on import of tea will also not be beneficial for majority of the gardens. Sources said that only a handful of major tea companies import tea from other parts of the country for blending, while, in most cases, Assam tea is taken out to other parts of the country for blending.

Before the budget, the associations representing the tea industry submitted memorandum to the Government with the request to provide a level playing field by providing the concessions given by the other tea producing states of the country, but none of the demands were fulfilled, which came as a major disappointment for the industry. Sources said that Assam is the only tea producing state to impose cess on green leaf. Among the tea producing states of the country, apart from Assam, only West Bengal had imposed cess on green leaf but because of the present health of the industry, the Government of West Bengal gave a moratorium of five years to the gardens , which has been extended by another year in this year’s budget. But instead of reducing the rates of cess as demanded by the gardens, the Assam Government decided to increase the rate of cess from 32 paisa per kilogram in the Brahmaputra valley to 40 paisa and from 29 paisa per kilogram in the Barak valley to 35 paisa.

The decision of the state government to increase the land revenue rates would also have a major impact on the gardens coming out of the slump. Sources said that the land revenue rates in Assam are the highest in the country and the decision of the Government to increase the rates with retrospective effect of five years would put serious burden on the gardens.

Meanwhile, talking to this correspondent, secretary of the Tea Association of India (TAI), Guwahati, D Deka said that the budget was disappointing for the tea industry. He said that despite repeated requests, the State Government did not provide a level playing field to the tea gardens of Assam. He said that the decision to increase the land revenue with retrospective effect would have serious consequences.

Source: The Assam Tribune

Post-Avurudu tea auctions to see low volume

2010-04-19T11:39:00.000+05:30

Volumes for this week tea auction to be held on 20 and 21 April are likely to be low due to the holiday season and the constant showers, sources claim.

Director of Forbes and Walker Tea Brokers (Pvt) Ltd. Dilan Polonwita yesterday stated that the upcoming sales would be very moderate, with approximately 5.7 to 5.9 million kilos of tea produced.

The last tea auction that was held on 5-6 April showed only 6.1 million kg of tea, one million less in volume than the previous tea auction. He stated that proper sales could only be reaped by mid May.

"With the rainy season in tow from end March, plucking was delayed by almost five to six days. This would be a cause of low level of production," Polonwita said. "However, from the month of May, productivity will be on the rise, quantities will grow and the end result of the month would show stability in the market."

Noting that Sri Lanka was now at a crucial juncture, Polonwita stated that when assessing data of the first quarter in tea production worldwide, year-on-year growth had increased, with countries such as India, Kenya and Sri Lanka catching up to close most deficits by end May 2010.

"Right now the market is substantially strong. Tea at the lower end is currently experiencing a fairly attractive process. However, by mid or end May, the prices will begin to differ between the lower end and better quality tea and the parity between the two will widen. From May onwards we are expecting the better quality tea to command a premium."

Up until end February, crop figures indicate a 21.2 per cent increase in tea production in comparison to the figures received this year and in 2009. Year-on-year gain was 51.9 million kilos in February 2010 whereas only 30.7 million kilos were produced in the same period the year before.

Sri Lanka experienced a 28.9 million kilo deficit in 2009 December when compared to December 2008. However, Sri Lanka will be able to surpass this figure by end 2010, Polonwita said.

"Figures indicate that up until now Sri Lanka has experienced a healthy crop figure. This would help the market realise its goals this year and would undoubtedly bring in more production in volumes by end this year."

He stated that worldwide deficit in tea production was some 50 to 60 million kilos in 2009 with major tea producer countries facing a slight drop in year-on-year production. However, a larger market is expected in 2010 as a healthy demand was encountered at the beginning of the year.

Source: Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka

A treat with tea

2010-04-18T13:41:00.000+05:30

Two years ago, in an inspired move, premier tea firm Dilmah celebrating their small beginnings in Australia and an enviable record of 21 years of growth since, invited eight of Australia’s leading chefs to take a trip to their home of tea to gain an understanding of what makes the beverage unique. Along the way they would see the efforts of Dilmah’s charity arm, the MJF Charitable Foundation particularly the Maha Ara village school in Hambantota set up to support children orphaned by the devastating tsunami in 2004.

The outcome was a culinary voyage that chartered new courses for the beverage that we Sri Lankans take so much for granted. Here is the stuff of our morning cuppa, the invigorating brew we sip with scant regard. True, we are limited by this very familiarity for seldom do we envision this very same beverage being used in ways that defy the imagination. Confronted with the challenge to discover new ways with tea, the eight master chefs from Australia surpassed themselves.

Tea encrusted Atlantic Salmon with beetroot, wasabi and a soya caramel; Cardamom and Green Tea seeped scallops, Schezuan pepper and orange pressed duck, fennel puree; Nilagama Single Estate Tea cured free range pork belly, sweet corn custard, pickled red cabbage and crab apple; Marmalade bread and butter pudding with Earl Grey infused prunes; Italian Dolce Parfait, chocolate doughnut, caramelized fig and caramel anglais tea sauce…such were the gourmet dishes they dreamed up.

This year, Dilmah will reprise that successful journey with twelve chefs and a sommelier, this time not only from Australia but from Europe , Asia and South America — the Czech Republic, Lithuania, the Maldives, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Belgium, Poland, Chile and the Netherlands descending on Colombo to host ‘The International Tea Culinary Experience’ — a charity dinner at the Hilton on April 26. Here for a gathering of just one hundred guests they will each prepare a tea-inspired Menu Degustation drawing on the flavours of their own country and their culinary traditions, each chef catering for a table of eight. Funds raised at the charity dinner will be matched by the MJF Foundation and the target is Rs. 1 million for a programme to foster culinary entrepreneurship in the North and East, under the Foundation’s successful Small Entrepreneur Programme (SEP).

For the likes of Peter Kuruvita, who led the eight celebrity chefs on the first tea tour, it will again be a coming home to his native land where he imbibed the rich culinary traditions of his Austrian mother and Sri Lankan father growing up in the extended family home at Dehiwela. Kuruvita who runs Sydney’s trendy harbour front Flying Fish restaurant still maintains strong connections with the island and termed the opportunity to work with the Foundation a “life changing one, professionally and personally for all those who came on the first tea trip”.

Yet even for others like young chef Damien Heads from Sydney’s Pony Lounge, it was a revelation. “After bustling Colombo and the memorable journey up to the ancient royal capital, I was stunned by the sheer beauty, freshness and tranquillity of the tea plantations. It was then I understood why the Dilmah family had invited me here; to see tea as they do –one of the most versatile herbs that the goodness of nature provides.”

What struck Chef Johny Triscari who brings a Sicillian heritage to Adelaide’s gracious Chloe’s Restaurant were the children this initiative was aimed at helping. Meeting the youngsters at Maha Ara, he was touched by their resilience and spirit. “I just said cricket and we were surrounded by a sea of kids. The enthusiasm and curiosity of the children alone was enough to inspire me. But there was also so much depth in the culture and in the food of this beautiful island,” he said.

The story of their travel through the island unfolded in a television series titled ‘The Chefs and the Tea Maker’ which aired on Australian TV in 2009 following their progress as they journeyed through the tea valleys of Bogawantalawa, down to the south coast through village and plantation learning the secrets of Ceylon tea and experiencing first-hand the spontaneous warmth of village hospitality.

This April, the chefs will begin their 12-day Lankan odyssey learning about tea at Dilmah’s School of Tea. Here they will also be given an insight into the Dilmah philosophy – of making business a matter of human service. The tea firm that began with founder Merrill J. Fernando relaunching Ceylon tea under the Dilmah brand – providing pure Ceylon tea, garden fresh, unblended and packed at the source to markets abroad, has today with its phenomenal growth taken on a strong service bent and the charity dinner is part of this continuing drive.

Under the Small Entrepreneur Programme, one of its many initiatives begun in 2005 after the tsunami have emerged as many as 400 singular success stories -from a pappadam factory in Moneragala run by an enterprising young man to carpenters in Eravur and even prisoners on parole finding new livelihoods. The charity dinner funds will go to assist those in the war ravaged areas find their way as the hospitality industry so long affected begins to see a revival.

The money raised will go to support some 25 culinary entrepreneurs in Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Arugam Bay and Ampara — bakers, caterers, restaurateurs and stewards from amongst the most disadvantaged segments of society who will be trained, given expert assistance with the help of the Chefs Guild of Lanka, and provided equipment to start their own small business.

For the visiting chefs it is no doubt a most enjoyable challenge — drinking in the serenity of Dilmah’s Ceylon Tea Trails villas, savouring the spice aromas in the company’s cinnamon estates during their 12-day tour of the island while letting their imagination and expertise blend with local herbs, spices and traditional ingredients in each location, to produce tea inspired food and drinks – all for a most worthy cause.

The Dilmah Chefs and the Tea Maker Grand Charity Dinner will be held at the Colombo Hilton on April 26 at 7.30 p.m. The event is sponsored by Dilmah, the MJF Foundation, the Colombo Hilton, Alpha Orient Lanka Ltd and the Sunday Times.

Source: The Sunday Times, By Renuka Sadanandan

Twinings in talks with Marico for cross promotions

2010-04-18T13:40:00.000+05:30

Premium tea brand Twinings is in talks with consumer goods major Marico India for cross promotions.

A company executive at Twinings, who is close to the development, said it was mainly looking at a promotional tie-up with Marico’s products that were pitched on health platform, such as fortified aata (wheat flour) or Saffola oil range. Twinings wants to promote its green tea variant on this health platform.

Twinings’ green tea variant contributes around 10 per cent to its India turnover and about 15 per cent to global turnover. It grows at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 80– 90 per cent, according to estimates.

Both companies said it was too premature to comment as the talks were still underway.

“The company’s main aim is to increase household penetration to at least 12 per cent this year and double it by next year, so this tie-up with a bigger Indian player will be profitable,” the executive said. It has a household penetration of 5 per cent. This cross promotion would include tag-on advertising with Marico in television and print media, along with a long-term tie-up with Marico’s fortified aata.

Analysts feel that this tie-up could give other tea players a run for their money, as Marico is a brand with a reasonable recall with consumers. “The tie-up fits very well for two reasons. Firstly, both companies are pitching their respective products on the health platform, which gives Twinings good visibility in the market.Also, both companies are not competitors in any product category, so there is no fear of one brand overtaking the other. So, Twinings can leverage from the brand recall that Marico’s products have,” said Purnendu Kumar, senior analyst, Technopak India.

Twinings set foot on India in 1997 and since then, has been working on its market and household penetration activities. It plans to double its Kolkata manufacturing unit’s capacity to 2,000 tonnes to cope with increased demand that went up by 10 per cent in the last one year.

Twinings also plans to add more contractors to expand in South and West, namely in Coimbatore, Pune and Cochin. For this, it has already invested around Rs 30 crore.

It was also looking at marketing some of its tea variants at a lower price point like Rs 40 for a pack of 10 bags and for this, it was in talks with global cereal foods giant Kellogg’s, the executive added. Kellogg’s recently became the first organised player to launch a breakfast cereals.

Source: Business Standard

'Tea Board should not link replanting with other sops'

2010-04-17T08:58:00.000+05:30

The United Planters Association of Southern India (Upasi) has pointed out that growing and manufacturing of tea are different and sometimes independent operations, and the progress in one should not be taken as a yardstick to promote and subsidise the other.

To promote replanting of aged tea bushes, the Tea Board has proposed that all ongoing development schemes of the Board should be linked with the Special Purpose Tea Fund (STPF) and priority would be given to gardens/estates that had undertaken replanting activities.

STPF scheme

The STPF scheme is mainly targeted at the field activity of replanting where a subsidy of 25 per cent of the cost is borne by the Government, 50 per cent could be bank loan and the remaining 25 per cent alone needs to be borne by the field owner upfront.

The progress in the STPF would be the yardstick on which eligibility for other schemes such as quality upgradation and product diversification are measured. Progress in replanting should not be used as a criterion for extending subsidies under the Quality Upgradation and Product Diversification scheme, sources in the Upasi said.

They pointed that productivity does not depend on the age of the bush alone but extends to type of clone and the manner in which the bush has been sustained and reared. There are large tracts of aged bushes of 50 years and above that are still yield better output than bushes of 25 years where replanting could be an agriculturally feasible operation but not a commercially viable operation.

Problems

The association has taken up this matter with the Tea Board and also the Union Ministry of Commerce, highlighting the specific problems that the South Indian plantations are facing. Although several tea estates undertake growing and manufacturing activities in an integrated manner, it should not be construed as a reason for denying subsidies because they fall short of replanting targets.

Moreover, the objective for replanting subsidy is to improve the yield and quality of the green leaf while the subsidy for upgradation of manufacturing facilities is to improve the quality of tea produced. Together, this would make Indian tea competitive in global markets. Therefore, it said that upgradation of manufacturing facilities is as much needed, if not more, as replanting of tea bushes to achieve the stated objectives.

But Upasi sources pointed out that they were not against the replanting scheme per se but were averse to linking one scheme as a condition for the other.

In fact, the Upasi Tea Research Foundation had carried out a survey on South Indian plantations which identified that 14,650 hectares or 13 per cent of the total area was in need of replanting. The association had suggested that replanting be carried out in a 20-year period, covering approximately 0.65 per cent of the total area a year.

Source: Business Line

Lack of rain likely to hit first flush production

2010-04-17T08:57:00.000+05:30

Kolkata: Harvest during the first flush of tea in Darjeeling and Dooars, which produces the finest variety of the crop, is likely to get hit owing to lack of rainfall during March this year. But the lower Assam crop looks promising after continuous rainfall in March.

The Tea Board of India held a meeting with the Darjeeling Tea Association representatives on Friday to take stock of the situation. “Although there was a little dry spell at the beginning it has started raining in Darjeeling from yesterday,” said Basudeb Banerjee, chairman of the Tea Board of India.

“We will be happy with 9 million kg production this year in Darjeeling,” Banerjee said. Last year, Darjeeling produced around 8.2 mkgs.

Production in Darjeeling has been a little delayed this year as the leaves took longer to sprout due to lack of rainfall at the initial stage. “This will have a cascading effect on the second flush,” said Sandeep Mukherjee, secretary of the Darjeeling branch of Darjeeling Tea Association.

The industry feels that the lull period or ‘bungee period’ between the first and second flush is likely to delay the harvest during second flush which is due in May.

While first flush is 20% of the total production in Darjeeling, second flush is also of the similar amount. “We think there will be a 35% drop in the production of first flush,” said Datta.

According to S Patra, secretary of the Indian Tea Association (ITA), the tea gardens in the north have been keen on maintaining the quality of the produce. “There could be a drop in quantity but not in quality,” said Patra.

Weather conditions in upper Assam has not been favourable during March. Moreover, the crop was also hit by helopeltis and red spider mites. Areas like Bibrugarh and Tingri have received considerable rainfall during March. Rainfall in places like Mangaldai in lower Assam was also favourable during the period.

“There has been erratic weather condition in last few years with too much of precipitation at times and long dry spells. Since it has started raining in Darjeeling already, the crop will not be affected much,” said Banerjee.

Source: Financial Express

New season tea hits market; costlier by Rs 20-30 a kg

2010-04-17T08:55:00.001+05:30

After a two-week delay, the new season tea has started trickling into the market, at a price that is Rs 20-30 a kg more than in the previous season.

The industry expects prices to remain at the same level till July. While March was a dry month, Assam is experiencing good rain at present.

However, like last year, the current season is expected to end with a deficit. Aditya Khaitan, chairman, Indian Tea Association, said: “The season started with a deficit of 50-60 million kg. Moreover, consumption increases 30-35 million kg every year worsening the situation.”

To make up for the deficit, India would have to produce 100 million kg more, which is unlikely. Last year, production was around 980 million kg against 978 million kg the previous year.

Also, the government’s uprooting and replanting programme is gaining ground. So, uprooting will result in 2 per cent less crop. “Every year, we will have 2 per cent less crop,” said a source.

However, the industry does not expect prices to hit the roof.

Sources in Tata Tea, one of the major buyers at auctions, said prices at the end of the year could see a slight dip.

The first flush normally sees the steepest increase in prices. “Last year, first flush prices were not that high. So, they are seeing a correction now. Year-end prices, which were very high last year, are also likely to see a correction this year,” said industry sources.

Last year was an unusual year, when major tea producing nations, like Kenya and Sri Lanka, witnessed unprecedented shortage. However, tea production in Kenya this year is forecast to be higher by 15 per cent.

In India, too, weather conditions are much better and production is expected to be at the same level as last year. The season started about two to three weeks later than usual due to a dry spell. North India witnessed dry weather conditions in March, which led to a delayed crop.

Source: Business Standard

Quite Interesting facts about tea

2010-04-17T08:52:00.000+05:30

A quietly intriguing column from the brains behind the BBC quiz show. This week: QI on tea.

If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. JAPANESE PROVERB

Tree
Tea is an infusion of the dried leaves, flowers and buds of the Camellia sinensis plant. It originated in south?east Asia on the borders of northern Burma and southern China. It now grows in 52 countries. The world's oldest cultivated tea tree is more than 3,200 years old and is found in Yunnan province in south-west China. After water, tea is the most often drunk drink in the world. The best quality tea grows up high. When tea plants are harvested only the top two inches are picked: these are called flushes. During the growing season a new flush grows every seven to 10 days.

Chic
The English fashion for tea drinking began in the early 18th century, driven by the British East India Company which had established a monopoly over its import in 1686. This lasted until 1834. No European then had any idea how tea was grown, dried or blended. They simply imported it from China. Tea (until Victorian times the English upper classes pronounced it "tay" and even spelt it "the") was drunk at the table over civilised conversation and needed lots of paraphernalia to drink it, like porcelain teacups and teapots and special spoons. When Addison and Steele's daily Spectator was launched in 1711 they advised that it should be considered "part of the tea-equipage".

India
Most Indians hadn't tasted tea before the mid-19th century. The British East India Company started commercial tea production in the 1820s, planting a Chinese variety high in the hills of Darjeeling. At the same time, Major Robert Bruce found tea plants growing wild in the Assam region of north-east India. It was found to be a separate variety of Camellia sinensis and made a particularly dark, rich tea. India is now the world's second largest tea producer after China, and the home market consumes two-thirds of the annual crop. All areas other than Darjeeling now grow the Assam variety.

Earl Grey
Because tea was such a valuable commodity, demand regularly outstripped supply and adulteration was widespread. Twigs, sawdust and iron filings were commonly added; in 1770 one village near London was quoted as producing more than 20 tons of adulterated material a year for supply to tea merchants. Their recipe was ash leaves boiled with sheep dung (for colour). In some cases the adulterants were added for flavour as well as bulk.

Earl Grey tea is flavoured with the rind of the bergamot orange, a fragrant citrus fruit. It was named after the second Earl Grey, British Prime Minister 1830-34. Jacksons of Piccadilly claim Lord Grey handed them his recipe, based on an old Chinese version. This is unlikely, as he never visited China and bergamots don't grow there. It is more likely the Earl Grey blend developed out of necessity, to spin out one of the regular shortages in supply from China.

Paraphernalia
Philosopher Jeremy Bentham kept a teapot called Dickey as a pet. A cult in Malaysia worships a giant teapot, as it symbolises "the healing purity of water". The world's
oldest operating petrol station, in Zillah, Washington State, is shaped like a teapot.

There are about a quintillion atoms in a teaspoon of sugar (that's 1 followed by 30 zeros). Alternatively, you could use the teaspoon to hold 2,000 carrot seeds. If the empty space were removed from the constituent atoms, the entire population of the planet could be compressed into the same space as a sugar cube (but it would weigh 10 billion tons).

By Molly Oldfield and John Mitchinson
Source: Telegraph.co.uk

RPG develops tech for orthodox tea

2010-04-16T12:21:00.001+05:30

Kochi: RPG group company Harrisons Malayalam Limited (HML) has built up capacity to convert more than half of its annual tea production into orthodox tea with the commissioning of the new orthodox manufacturing facility at Wallardie tea factory in Vandiperiyar on Tuesday, HML sources said.

HML is south India’s largest cultivator of tea and a prominent exporter. HML had inaugurated a similar facility in its Chundale factory outlet in Wayanad a few months back.

Wallardie factory orthodox facility is second in line as part of HML’s plan to be versatile in its ability to do CTC and orthodox tea manufacture to exploit higher prices in favour as per market conditions. Cost reduction from the functioning of the new factories and the ability to convert more tea into orthodox should help the company increase its revenues, HML sources said.

HML also buys green leaf to maximise the capacity utilisation of its tea factories. Wallardie factory has a capacity to process 50 tonne of green leaf per day and an annual capacity of 3.5 million kg of tea. The capital outlay is about Rs.4.6 crore and the pay back is less than a year.

The factory has state-of-the-art machinery aiding automation and quality control. HML Wallardie orthodox teas are exported to Russia, Middle East and European countries. Wallardie orthodox facility will also enable HML to pay good prices to the small growers and suppliers of good quality green leaf.

Retail sales of its branded tea are also expected to increase significantly with the company focusing on extending its distribution network to Goa, Orissa and Maharashtra. The company had a turnover of Rs 291 crore in 2008-09 as against Rs 204 crore in 2007-08.

Source: Financial Express

Twinings Tea launches "Royal Tea"

2010-04-16T12:18:00.000+05:30

Twinings India, a part of Associated British Foods (ABF), United Kingdom, has launched Royal Tea. The company said that new "Royal Tea" contained full flavoured blend of Assam and South Indian teas

As the name suggests, Twinings Royal Tea offers you an enchanting tea drinking experience.

Twinings Royal Tea is initially available in all high-end retail outlets, grocery stores; supermarket in major cities including Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Ahmedabad.

Source: FnB News

Goodricke owner enters financial services business

2010-04-14T09:10:00.000+05:30

Kolkata: UK’s Camellia Plc, which enjoys a 74% stake in tea major Goodricke Group, is teeing off banking and financial services operations in the country for the first time through its London-based wholly owned subsidiary Duncan Lawrie Ltd.

The group, which got the green signal from the Reserve Bank of India for launching the financial services business, opened its first representative office in Kolkata on Tuesday.

With core interests in tea, the UK group has lined up plans to increase its tea production in the country through the acquisition route.

It proposes to raise production from 33 million kg to 50 million kg through acquisitions of tea estates in Assam.

PJ Field, chairman, Goodricke Group, said on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting, “Through the representative office, high networth individuals (HNIs) could invest in stocks that are listed in UK and the whole of European region. We will also help them to invest in stocks listed in the US and Far East to some extent.”

Field, who is also the MD of Camellia’s banking and financial services and heads Duncan Lawrie, said, “We want to test the Indian market before we expand our footprint in the country.”

Duncan Lawrie is a private bank that provides service to individuals, companies, charities and trusts. It offers services such as investment management, financial planning, offshore services and trust and estate planning.

On the tea business in India, A N Singh, MD & CEO of Goodricke Group, said, “The group’s total production is 33 million kg as of now. We are interested to acquire tea estates in Assam and will acquire estates at the right time and opportunity. The aim is to achieve 50 million kg in the shortest possible time.”

Meanwhile Goodricke has decided to increase its presence in instant tea and packet tea categories.

According to the CEO, the company has set a target to increase its packet teas from 6 million kg at present to 10 million kg by 2012.

Source: DNA

Goodricke sees 2010 tea output at 21 mln kg-exec

2010-04-14T09:09:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA, April 13 (Reuters) - Tea plantation firm Goodricke Group (GDRC.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) expects to produce 21 million kg of tea during 2010, compared with 19.5 million kg in 2009, a senior official said on Tuesday.

"The climate is better this year compared to last year, so we should touch 21 million kg this year. Our export target for the current year is at 2 million kg as against 1.8 million kg last year," Chief Executive Officer A.N. Singh told reporters.

The Kolkata-based company, which owns 17 tea gardens across tea growing regions of Darjeeling, Dooars and Assam, is planning to scale up its instant-tea and packet tea business in big way in the present year, he said.

"We have exported 200 tonnes of instant tea during 2009 and this year it is expected to touch 300 tonnes. We are working on launching it across India in a big way by the end of this year," Singh said.

Currently, the company has an installed capacity to produce 600 tonnes of instant tea per annum, he added.

Goodricke sold 6 million kg of packet tea last year and the figure is expected to touch 10 million kg over the next two years, he said.

Goodricke expects the tea prices to trade at 10-15 rupees per kilogram higher during 2010 on rising consumption and demand-supply mismatch, Singh said.

"Currently, the tea prices are trading in the range of 135-150 rupees per kilogram, which is 10-15 rupees higher compared to same period last year. This trend is expected to continue in the remaining part of the season," he said.

Due to adverse weather conditions, India's total production in 2009 stood at 979 million kg, compared with 981 million kg a year ago, according to Tea Board data.

This, coupled with global crop shortage, pushed tea prices up 30 percent on an average during 2009. (Reporting by Niladri Bhattacharya; Editing by Prem Udayabhanu)

Source: Reuters India

Tea workers in Assam to get incentive

2010-04-12T21:41:00.000+05:30

The Assam tea industry has revised the incentives for tea-leaf plucking for workers in Brahmaputra Valley. The decision came just a couple of months after wage revision of tea garden workers by the industry.

The decision was arrived at a meeting between representatives of the tea industry from Indian Tea Association (ITA), Tea Association of India (TAI), Bharatiya Chah Parishad (BCP), Assam Tea Planters’ Association (ATPA) and North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) and Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) in Dibrugarh in Upper Assam.

At the meeting it was agreed that minimum plucking task during ‘ticca’ period (which is generally from June to October) would be revised from 21 kgs to 23 kgs per day from the upcoming season.

The incentive for extra leaf plucking, for output above minimum task of 23 kgs, was enhanced in two slabs, with a view to affectiing improvement in productivity. First, anything plucked extra than 23 kgs to average output of the garden would be paid 55 paise per kg. And, anything plucked above the average output of the garden would be paid Re. 1 per kg.

Average output of the garden is arrived at by dividing green leaf harvest during ticca period of last three consecutive year by man-day’s deployed for plucking during the same period.

It was also decided at the meeting to revise the additional compensation for factory workers to Rs. 3 per day with effect from ‘ticca’ period commencing from plucking season of 2010.

ACMS had been demanding revision of the plucking rates applicable to daily rated workers engaged in plucking in tea estates in Brahmaputra Valley, the last revision having been affected on March 27, 1993.

Tea industry sources present at the meeting told Business Standard that the issue of improvement of productivity was discussed at length, and after protracted discussions the settlement of revision of incentives was reached.

Sources said that the employers’ association expressed concern at the growing trend of absenteeism of permanent workers and discussed ways and means with ACMS to curb the trend. ACMS, the workers association, agreed to co-operate with the garden managements in their effort to reduce absenteeism.

In February this year the Assam tea industry had increased tea wages for workers of Brahmaputra Valley by Rs. 18 in three phases and with retrospective effect from January 1 this year.

Source: Business Standard

Tea Pickers' Daughters Reap Gains in Indian State

2010-04-12T21:39:00.000+05:30

For decades, the Indian state of Kerala has been approving pro-women measures. Last year 10 percent of the state's budget went to programs for girls and women. A tea picker says her daughter benefits.

MUNNAR, India (WOMENSENEWS)--Kalaiselvi has spent more than three decades working on a tea plantation in Munnar, a verdant, river-ringed town in a mountainous region called the Western Ghats.

Each morning after dawn breaks, she and a group of other female tea pickers don headscarves and protective vests and troop single file from their simple, one-story homes to the hillside tea fields. They pluck oblong tea leaves with lightning-quick fingers, filling their baskets and bags while chatting and laughing as the sun rises.

"We harvest tea as a group of 40 to 60 women, and that's what makes it enjoyable," said Kalaiselvi, who spoke to Women's eNews through an interpreter. "Still, I'm glad my daughter is in school and not in the fields with me. Because she was able to get a better education, she is attending nursing school while I only finished ninth grade. She has more choices and will likely have a better life."

In recent decades, Kalaiselvi's native state, Kerala, has instituted measures to improve female education, health and economic security.

The state reintroduced delivery services in hospitals that no longer offered them; doubled the size of state government pensions for widows; and eliminated a ban on widows receiving pensions if they had male offspring over the age of 20. The changes have inspired similar measures elsewhere in India.

After India's Parliament passed the Women Against Domestic Violence Act in 2005, Kerala was one of the first states to implement the law, creating counseling centers and hiring "women protection officers" to aid survivors of violence.

But rights advocates still noticed that many programs for women that made it into the state budget were not implemented. To rectify that, they pushed through the creation of the Kerala Gender Board in January 2009, which ensures that 10 percent of state-funded programs benefit girls and women directly.
Board Spurs Female-Friendly Initiatives

The Gender Board has helped to spur the opening and expansion of maternity care centers, job training programs and anti-violence initiatives in the past year. Board members also make sure that women play a vital role in creating and running the programs that are designed to benefit them.

Headed by Kerala's Health and Social Welfare Minister and headquartered in the state capital of Trivandrum, the board has 18 members. Two are female legislators and one is a member of the Kerala State Women's Commission. The board meets monthly to keep tabs on women's initiatives that are starting--or already established--in the state.

The creation of Kerala's Gender Board was a landmark move in India. Even though the national economy is rapidly developing, many women do not receive an education or the chance at paid work that affords a comfortable standard of living.

Only 54 percent of Indian woman are able to read, compared to 75 percent of Indian men, according to the New Delhi-based National Literacy Mission. Women are just 10 percent of India's Parliament, which means India ranks 99th among 187 countries in this measure, lagging behind neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan, reports the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union.

India's Equal Remuneration Act of 1936 promises equal wages for equal work, but men employed by Indian companies earn an average $3,698 annually while their female counterparts earn less than one third of that, or $1,185, according to the Geneva-based World Economic Forum.

Women's advocates say things are comparatively better in Kerala, which is 55 percent Hindu, 25 percent Muslim and 20 percent Christian. The state has a long tradition of women participating in education, commerce, politics and the arts.

STATE BOASTS BEST RATES
Kerala says it boasts India's top-ranked literacy rate for women (88 percent); its highest sex ratio (1,058 women to every 1,000 men); and its longest average female lifespan (76 years, versus 65 years in the rest of the country).

The maternal mortality rate in the country is 301 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the Indian government, though the World Health Organization's estimate is 450. Government statistics put Kerala's maternal mortality rate at 262 per 100,000 live births--significantly lower than the national average.

Tea pickers in Munnar earn $734 per year, which Selin Mary, a spokesperson for Kalaiselvi's employer, says is high for agricultural workers and on par with what male workers earn.

"Part of the reason these women's pay is so good," she said, "is that the firm running this plantation--the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company--employs many women, is 70 percent employee-owned and has a woman heading its workers' collective. Also important is the fact that our tea pickers live and work in Kerala."

T.N. Seema, a member of the Gender Board and president of the All India Democratic Women's Association, a New Delhi-based organization that promotes women's rights, still sees plenty of room for improvement though.

"Kerala's women are better off than many, but they are still concentrated in low-wage-earning sectors like tea picking," Seema said. "Women should have better job training and should be equipped to work in professions other than those traditionally earmarked for females."

During a break from her work in the fields of Munnar, Kalaiselvi said she agrees.

"Our daughters and granddaughters can get an education, medical treatment and government benefits that older generations never enjoyed," she said. "Even so, we hope they will also have the opportunity to have professional careers, whether they choose to leave the green hills of Munnar or whether they choose to stay."

Molly M. Ginty (http://mollymaureenginty.wordpress.com) is a freelance writer based in New York City.
For more information:

Kerala State's Women's Commission:
http://keralawomenscommission.gov.in/vanithaweb/index.php

All India Democratic Women's Association:
http://aidwaonline.com/

Source: womensenews.org

A storm in Aussie teacups

2010-04-11T08:06:00.001+05:30

WE ALL like to know where our wine and cheese comes from but what about our favourite cuppa?

A team of Australian researchers is developing a way to trace the contents of a teapot back to the garden where it was grown.

Determining the origin of a food can help decode important biosecurity riddles, especially if there is a problem with the quality or freshness of goods exported overseas.

But it can also sort the real from the replica when it comes to foods specific to geographic locations, said head of the study Winthrop Professor John Watling.

He said about three times the amount of Darjeeling tea was sold as the real thing when compared with plantation production rates.

"Methods pioneered at the centre were so accurate that it was possible to know the plantation on which the tea was grown," said Professor Watling, from the University of Western Australia. "When stuff comes into the country, we would like to believe that what we are paying for is what we are getting."

Professor Watling said provenance technology was a critical part of protecting Australia's reputation for being "clean, green and environmentally conscious".

Since the tea study began, staff at the university's Centre for Forensic Science had reported some companies to the Office of Fair Trading.

"We're not a law enforcement authority but our studies are made available to police authorities," Professor Watling said.

Ray Fien, of Australian company Madura Tea, said it was unfair that other companies were passing off other varieties of tea as Darjeeling, which is considered a premium variety with a premium price tag.

"It's cheating the public. You could do the same with white tea – a lot of people are selling green tea as white tea," he said.

In some situations it was acceptable to blend tea varieties "for consistency" but they shouldn't be labelled as pure strains, he said.

Chevy Kwok, owner of Taka Tea in Sydney, said the company ordered through a wholesaler but was confident it received pure Darjeeling tea.

About 10 million tonnes of genuine Darjeeling tea is harvested in India each year, with the bulk of the imitation tea coming from Sri Lanka and Kenya.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
By: Melissa Singer