The Hindu Business Line : Organic tea biz set for a revolutionary change

Well-known German laboratory, Dr Specht & Partner has given a clean chit to Jalinga products. At present, about 3.5 million kg of organic tea is produced in the country.

Kolkata , Feb. 23

K. Manibhai & Co has succeeded in transforming its total tea production of one million kg into organic tea. Now it is trying to market it successfully.

Once this is done, the business of organic tea in India may witness a revolutionary change from the current status where producers run after laboratory certificates without ensuring that its product is really free from chemicals and pesticides.

K. Manibhai & Co is in the business of for over half a century. It has tea gardens in Assam and Dooars. The flagship garden of the company is in Jalinga Tea Estate.

In the last couple of years, the company noticed that profit margins are falling. So, to remain profitable, it tried to enter a niche market. By the end of 2002, it started organic farming with the help of Inhana Biotech, a city-based bio-technological company, which replaced all chemical pesticides and fertilisers with organic materials. According to Mr Ketan Patel, one of the directors of the tea firm, Inhana introduced the usage of herbal extract in a liquid form. The garden registered miraculous results.

"In general, when organic materials are introduced in a garden, it suffers a crop loss up to 50 per cent along with a 50 per cent rise in production cost. Our experience was different. We never registered any crop loss and our cost of production also dropped," Mr Patel told Business Line.

The usage of organic material in Jalinga was spread to its total cultivable area of 650 hectares. The total size of the garden is 1,400 hectares. Apart from the tea estate there is forest alongside the garden. "We are considering increasing the garden by approximately five per cent every year with organic farming techniques,'' he said.

However, the pluckers of Jalinga Tea Estate are experiencing a different sort of problem. "As we have gone for total organic farming, the garden has become totally pollution free. As a result, rare amphibian species and turtles are coming out of the nearby jungles and entering the garden,'' he said.

Well-known German laboratory, Dr Specht & Partner has already given a clean chit to Jalinga products. At present, only about 3.5 million kg of organic tea is produced in the country. An industry expert said: "I really have doubts how clean are these teas despite the certifications."

According to Dr P. Das Biswas, Owner of Inhana Biotech, success in organic farming depends on financial success only. "Until and unless I give a profitable solution which can gainfully replace the existing system, no one will shift to new systems. My products and technology are based on that theory", he said. At present, K. Manibhai & Co is gearing up to introduce its organic teas in the market, both domestic and international. It is likely to be ready by March this year. The company will continue with its Jalinga brand but it will now be called Naturorganic Tea. It will be available in tea bags, sachets, in packs of 250 and 500 g and special gift boxes.

It will start off in the nine metros and then follow it up in the rural market. For overseas market, talks are already on with several brokers and international tea buyers. The company is even contemplating setting up an office at California in the US, where the demand for organic food products are quite high.

"The USP of our product will be its price. Currently, all organic teas are highly priced almost double than that of the regular tea. We will price our product almost at par with the normal tea but it will be available in a separate shelf not beside other teas," Mr Patel said.