HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, May 20: The Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturer’s Association (ABLTMA) has decided to close down the state’s bought tea leaf factories from June 1 as tea buyers refuse to buy tea produced in these factories due to use of pesticides.
However, the ABLTMA has denied shutting down these factories in order to bring down the prices of raw leaves for the small tea growers as alleged by the All Assam Small Tea Growers Association.
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It further stated that the price of raw leaf is being paid to the small tea growers at the price fixed by the Tea Board of India as per the Price Sharing Formula.
The ABLTMA said that it had incurred loss as dried tea buyers were not willing to buy tea produced in the state’s tea factories due to the rampant use of pesticides by the small tea growers. They had even approached the state government and the Tea Board of India for a solution. However, with no solution in sight, it has decided to close down the factories from June 1.
“We would like to make it clear that some small tea farmers are using widely banned pesticides on raw leaves, thus violating the Tea Board of India’s permissible limit for the use of pesticides. Therefore, factory-produced tea leaves (made tea) contain large amounts of pesticides. As a result, dried tea buyers are not willing to buy dried tea produced in such factories of the state. We are facing huge losses and various problems in this regard. The association had also approached the state and central governments as well as the Tea Board of India authorities concerning the issue, but to no avail,” S Gohain, president of ABLTMA.
“We are surprised to read the statement issued by the All Assam Small Tea Growers Association in the media blaming us. However, in a recent meeting chaired by secretary-general S Laxman and attended by the district commissioners of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, neither the president nor the secretary of the association were present,” Gohain said.
