The Hindu Business Line : Leaf tea plucking rates improving

Leaf (tea) plucking rates have improved in the last three years, from Rs 3 a kg in 2003 to around Rs 8/kg now. For quality grades, the rates have even crossed the double-digit mark.

While the small growers are happy about this trend, the rise has not brought about any change in their livelihood. Growers say that they are neck-deep in debt and it would take a while for them to come out of the clutches of the local moneylender.The small growers of Alakarai village, a hamlet about 11 km from Kotagiri recall the days when they used to get Rs 18-plus on a kg of green leaf (years ago), before reaching rock-bottom levels - Rs 3/kg during the late 90s.

MSP not possible

The growers refute the industry's allegation on the quality front. They have instead been demanding a minimum support price for the green leaf.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has, in a recent reply to the Nilgiri's Bought Leaf Manufacturers Association and the Small Tea Growers Association made it clear that it would be impossible to fix the minimum support price for the green leaf.

They have substantiated their contention by citing five reasons, the first being that the price of tea was determined by demand and supply positions; on the quality of tea (which again is dependent on the quality of the green leaf supplied); the purchasing power of the manufacturing units if the raw material price was already fixed and the absence of buyers for procuring the leaf at the fixed rate.

Stress on quality

But even before the price fixation issue took a political dimension, the Tea Board took to awareness campaigns for improving the plucking standards and thereby the quality of the green leaf.

The Board's persistent demand on quality standards, industry sources perceive has helped improve the returns for the growers. The price for the green leaf has always been determined on the quality of the leaf supplied and this varies according to climate, soil conditions and plucking standards, market sources say.

Self-help groups

The SHGs concept appears to have done the trick. Pluckers, who earlier depended on the men-folk and agents, started supplying to the factories directly.

"There was a lot of resistance, when we formed the group three years ago. There were disputes in weight and quality. We have overcome this now. Last month, we were able to get Rs 9.50/kg," says Ms R. Sumathi of Kattabetta, a member of Aranganathar SHG.

Growers say that the production dips between November and March (lean period). Falling production (due to frost and prolonged drought conditions) on the one hand and the infestation of the red spider mite (RSM) on the other has affected the yield levels.

"Production touches a high of 500 kg/month during the season. During the lean period, it drops to 100 kg or even less. Now, it has fallen to less than 30 kg/month due to RSM infestation," says Ms R. Meenakshi of Alakarai village.

The hamlet, which houses about 150 badaga families is on the verge of disintegration. "About 7,000 members of our community have left for Tirupur in the last five years," says Ms Gowri.