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Our Bureau

Coimbatore , Oct. 2

THE plantation sector has sought the support of the Union and State Governments in addressing critical issues such as reduction of taxes, repealing obsolete legislations, amending labour laws and absorbing social welfare costs, which are currently being borne by the plantations.

The Chairman of the Planters Association of Tamil Nadu (PAT), Mr Vijayann P. Rajes, said that the shift in the Government policy from nationalisation to globalisation and industrialisation without comprehensive reforms in plantation and labour legislation pushed the industry to a point of near collapse. While addressing the 52nd Annual General Meeting of PAT, he said the crisis signalled a death knell and could no longer be passed off as a temporary phenomenon caused by adverse trade cycles.

He said the trends indicate a permanent reversal in position from that of a dominant player in tea trade during the Special Bilateral Trade Agreement era to an adverse one at present. He attributed this trend to the country falling a prey to foreign investment dynamics and international trade policy.

"To compete on price and quality, the sector is taking steps in the right direction, but it requires the support of State and Centre," he said. Mr Rajes said the Tamil Nadu Government's incentive of Rs 2 a kg to small growers was an acknowledgement of the inability of growers to cover cultivation costs. He added that the Centre's Special Tea Term Loan package would not meet the immediate requirements of the industry. The association believes that the opening of retail marketing in India and abroad could trigger the demand for specially prepared and branded packet teas.

On wages, he stressed the need for linking it to productivity, on the lines of rival producing and exporting countries.

PAT has appealed for the suspension of the import for re-export scheme and pointed out that the levy of fringe benefit tax was a retrograde step for the entire industry.

Dr S. Bala Ravi, Adviser, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, in his inaugural address, said that Indian agriculture is undergoing huge stress caused by price depression and low production.

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