Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal Advocates For Robust Marketing Of India's Organic Tea

Guwahati, Sept 30 (KNN) There is a need to lay more emphasis on the promotion of organic tea through marketing and leveraging India’s position as a one-stop destination for various tea varieties, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said.

Speaking at the National Small Tea Growers Conference on Friday through a video conference, Goyal called for targeting high-value markets like Europe, the US, and the Middle East. 

During his address, he highlighted the pivotal role played by small tea growers in the plantation sector and stressed the need for enhanced livelihood opportunities for them.

The union minister also stressed the need for sustainable solutions to address climate change challenges and encouraged innovation across the entire tea supply chain.

He expressed confidence that this conference would catalyze positive transformations within the industry and enhance the livelihoods of valued tea growers.

On the occasion, Tea Board’s former chairman Prabhat Bezbaruah said that it was imperative to support the small growers and empower them for quality tea production.

“It is crucial for the organised sector and government bodies to support small tea growers in their journey towards quality tea production,” he said.

The day-long conference was jointly organised by Solidaridad and the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers’ Associations (CISTA).

During the conference, detailed discussions were held on the essential role of small tea growers in the Indian tea industry, their challenges, and the need for knowledge empowerment.

The stakeholders called for addressing the key challenges such as maintaining economic threshold limits for sustainable tea production, the knowledge gap among growers, and climate adaptation.

They also emphasised the need for quality improvement in tea production to ensure the industry’s long-term viability, tackling issues of oversupply, rising production costs, and supply-demand dynamics.

The programme was organised with the support of All Assam Small Tea Growers Association, All Bodoland Small Tea Growers Association, Jalpaiguri District Small Tea Growers Association, and Small Tea Growers Association of South India.  (KNN Bureau)