SILCHAR, Feb 25 - An increase of Rs 1.53 in the average auction price in 2019 over 2018 indicates a serious disequilibrium in demand and supply of tea quantities, said AS Brar, chairman of the Surma Valley branch of the Indian Tea Association.
In his address at the 119th annual general meeting of the Surma Valley branch of the Indian Tea Association (SVBITA) held recently, Brar said, �the Guwahati tea auction prices for what is known as Cachar Tea, shows an average of Rs 125.76 for sale Nos 14 to 52 in 2019 as compared to an average of Rs 124.23 for the same set of sales in 2018.
At the same time, prices of onions for a few months was almost similar in 2019. There is a serious disequilibrium in the demand and supply of tea quantities and the prices are not going up in conformity with the wholesale price index of about 3 percent.�
Further, Brar mentioned in his speech that as per the Tea Board, the crop for Barak Valley for 2019 was estimated at 45.01 million kg, which showed a decline of 7 percent from 2018.
The chairman also highlighted the activities of the branch which were initiated in dealing with the phase of deaths due to liquor poisoning across the state.
He informed that the branch advised all the gardens to keep the district administration informed in terms of provisions of the Assam Excise Act 2018.
Meanwhile, Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who had graced the meeting as the chief guest, assured total cooperation to the gardens in maintaining safety and security of the management and labourers. DIG (Southern Range) Dilip Kumar Dey also attended the meeting.
SK Taparia, Chairman of the Tea Association of India, Barak Valley branch put forth the issues confronted by the industry here. He said that special packages from the Tea Board must be roped in to boost tea production.
Secretary General of Indian Tea Association Arijit Raha and secretary of SVBITA Bhaskar Prasad Chaliha also spoke on the occasion.