With 31 to 48 per cent of the offer at Coonoor Tea Trade Association auctions remaining unsold in the recent weeks, worried producers have sought the Tea Board' promotion and marketing.

With the Board insisting on 100 per cent sale through e-auctions, the future trade will be on real-time with instantaneous fund transfer for on-spot payment from off-site purchase in on-line system. This calls for greater understanding of commodity and derivate trading. Trade Associations cannot survive by claiming to conduct auctions just by providing the platform to keep the computers as the software and monitoring are done elsewhere.

“At the recent National Convention, we, therefore, urged trade bodies to become marketing managers for tea by enhancing their knowledge capital and bear responsibility to promote tea highlighting health benefits. We also urged Tea Board to take the lead in promotion and marketing,” Dr AVK Iyengar, Director, Plantation Management Academy, told Business Line .

“As Tea Board's most schemes are production-oriented, we called for market-oriented schemes as well. Award-winning teas must fetch good prices; otherwise, awards will lose their significance”, he said. “We have suggested to the Board to come out with attractive showrooms in metros to sell quality teas. It should announce specific promotion plans. Drawing this to its advantage, the industry should have its own plan. The generic promotion can be supplemented with brand promotion. Specific marketing budget with time-bound selling targets must be drawn up by every player,” Dr Iyengar added.

The speciality e-auction of Golden leaf award winning teas conducted with Board's support proved that the Board's direct involvement will benefit industry and trade.

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