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L.N. Revathy

Coimbatoare , May 23

GENERALLY, `designer' wear command a premium, but it is not so with the tea industry. For the broking community, teas with a `designer' tag signify `spurious' or poor quality tea.

The so-called designer teas being traded at the Coonoor and Coimbatore auction centres are not the branded or packed stuff, but adulterated tea, a broker told Business Line.

According to the broking community, close to 50,000 kg of such designer tea is traded every week, and the rates hover around Rs 29 a kg.

Brokers allege that the arrival of such spurious teas has led to suppression of the overall rates that the genuine teas would command, besides damaging the industry image.

Exporters and defence contractors are said to buy this stuff in large quantities.

A good number of exporters blend the poor quality tea with high priced teas, said Mr Jeya Thilaka Chellam, former Chairman of the Coonoor Tea Trade Association.

At least one-fifth of the Bought Leaf Factories indulged in such nefarious activities, he said. Adulteration, brokers say, is rampant and has been happening at the factory gate and not in some remote location.

The common adulterants for tea are cashew husk, coffee husk, coconut fibre, caustic soda, sugar/jaggery and leaves from the wild.

"The situation is grim. The authorities are not initiating action," Mr Chellam alleged.

Tea Board sources claim to be ignorant of such developments.

Its Executive Director, Mr Vikram Kapur, when contacted, said poor plucking standards in some pockets could have led to sub-standard quality.

"These are not adulterated but sub-standard teas, which may not pass the PFA test," he said.

He further said the Board would not be able to initiate action against the offenders, as the power to punish the offenders was vested with the Civil Supplies Department.

The food cell, however, is not in the know of such developments. According to sources, following a Supreme Court Order, which stated `tea is not a food stuff', no sample tests have been carried out in the last four to five months.

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