The Hindu Business Line : Feasibility report sought for tea park

THE Tea Board has asked I-Win, a joint venture of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and ICICI Bank, to prepare a feasibility report for setting up a tea park in the Kolkata Port Trust area.

The proposed park will have facilities for cleaning, blending, packaging and warehousing, according to Mr R.S. Shukla, Deputy Chairman of the Tea Board.

Stating this on the sidelines of a seminar on organic tea here today, Mr Shukla said the feasibility report was expected to be ready within the next 3-4 months. The report will take into account the views of all stakeholders in the tea industry, including tea buyers and brokers. It is also expected to make recommendations on whether the proposed tea park would be set up in the State sector, joint sector or in the private sector.

On the issue of growing organic teas, Mr Shukla said the move was laudable but it is imperative to ensure that the production of organic teas was cost-effective, sustainable and economically viable. He said that many countries in the world were wary of chemical fertilisers and pesticides used in the production of consumables. In fact, the tea council of Germany and European Union have sent a questionnaire asking India to specify the chemicals used in tea cultivation, he said.