Rope in MS Dhoni as ambassador to promote Assam tea, suggests tea association NETA

Renowned globally for its richly coloured and aromatic tea, Assam's tea industry, which is the country's largest, provides livelihoods to millions with many others directly or indirectly dependent on the plantations. The state is famed for both Orthodox as well as the CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) varieties of tea.

Aiming to raise India's per capita consumption of tea and to tackle the prevailing supply glut, the North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) has urged the Assam government to engage popular cricketer MS Dhoni as the brand ambassador of 'Assam Tea'. "We strongly urge Govt of Assam to engage MS Dhoni as the Brand Ambassador of Assam Tea," said Kamal Jalan, Chairman of the tea association NETA, as he outlined various issues, challenges facing the industry and way forward.

The association, in its 21st biennial general meeting held in Guwahati on March 13, also called for the generic promotion of Assam Tea in the domestic market with Dhoni being the ambassador. NETA is a body with 172 member tea companies spread over Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Notably, tea growers in Assam are celebrating the plantation industry reaching a crucial milestone of 200 years. Tea estates around plantations, hitherto unexplored and unpicked, in the state's upper reaches first came to be established way back in 1823.

Renowned globally for its richly coloured and aromatic tea, Assam's tea industry, which is the country's largest, provides livelihoods to millions with many others directly or indirectly dependent on the plantations. The state is famed for both Orthodox as well as the CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) varieties of tea. For several years now, India's tea industry has been struggling with issues such as relatively stagnant consumption, rising production costs, subdued prices and crop losses due to climate change.

It also faces the challenge of finding a footing and holding its ground in a competitive global market. The tea business is cost-intensive, with a sizable portion of the total investment being fixed cost. India as a whole contributes 23 per cent to the global tea output and employs around 1.2 million workers in the tea plantation sector.

Assam by itself produces nearly 700 million kg of tea annually and accounts for around half of India's overall tea production. Tea estates around plantations, hitherto unexplored and unpicked, in the state's upper reaches first came to be established way back in 1823. "We are not in favour of cutting down production but we strongly feel that generic promotion of tea in the domestic market would increase consumption of tea. Our mission for per capita consumption of tea in India is 1 kilo. The day we achieve this lot of our problems in this industry would be over," Jalan said in his address at the biennial meeting.

Presently, he said, the per capita consumption of tea in India is 840 grams. Among other requests, the tea association urged the state government to provide 'BHARAT RICE' at a subsidised rate to the tea garden management so that it can be passed on to the workers.

"Price of foodgrains has been on the rise and the price graph will always go up. It has become very difficult for tea garden management to buy foodgrains at such a high price and give it to workers. In West Bengal, state govt gives foodgrain to tea garden workers. In Assam, ideally the management should be relieved from providing foodgrains to workers," Jalan said in his address. "However after several round of discussions no solution is at sight. Therefore, if management gets BHARAT RICE from Govt then it would give some relief to the management," he further asserted.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who last week was on a two-day visit to Assam, took some time out from his tour to spend some time at a tea estate. He urged tourists to visit Assam's tea gardens during their visits to the state. "Assam is known for its splendid tea gardens, and Assam Tea has made its way all over the world. I would like to laud the remarkable tea garden community, which is working hard and enhancing Assam's prestige all over the world," the prime minister wrote on his X timeline.

Assam's lush tea gardens have more to offer to the world than just the beverage itself. A stay in the tea garden, playing golf and driving through tea estates could be some unforgettable experiences. This beautiful state has sprawling lush green tea estates with old-world bungalows, most of which have golf courses attached to them. Besides classical clubhouses for post-golf sessions, some of these estates have even airstrips for tourists to arrive and take off in chartered aircraft. (ANI)

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