Corporate tea sector seeks MSP

Tea plantations in the corporate sector have sought a minimum support price or a minimum auction price for the commodity as was done in the case of cereals and pulses.

Even though the price of green leaf is monitored and controlled by the Tea Board, there is no mechanism to support the tea manufacturers from the vagaries of price fluctuations. Hence an MSP will help the sector that provides livelihood to thousands of workers, they said.

“We have already taken up the matter through industry bodies such as United Planters Association of South India (Upasi) and Association of Planters of Kerala (APK). Corporate plantations deserve the benefit of MSP, considering the unstable price situation prevailing in the sector,” an official source in the sector said.

It is pointed out that the unorganised sector in the tea industry is largely free of statutory social costs such as PF, accommodation, sanitation, medical and child care etc, while the corporate sector has to meet all such requirements. The government should bear a portion of the social cost to help the corporate plantations to tide over the situation in the wake of declining prices, sources added.

It is an accepted fact that the climate change is a reality and mitigation measures are an inevitability. However, no comprehensive programme-based approach has been initiated in the plantation sector. Individual plantations have been left to address the issue depending on their financial might. The Tea Board should extent support to tea plantations for conservation of soil, water, natural flora and fauna, the sources said.

The sector also suggested formulation of a comprehensive plan with adequate financial support for improving the social amenities. As tea plantations in South India are under heavy financial burden, the Centre should reimburse the social costs to the tea estates through the Tea Board, they said.

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