Nearly 30,000 tea small growers who supply their green leaf as raw material to 16 Industrial co-operative tea factories (Indco factories) in The Nilgiris will receive ₹22 a kg for their green leaf during August.

“This is the all-time high price paid by Indco factories. It will help small farmers cope up the challenges of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic”, said Supriya Sahu, Chief Executive Officer of the Coonoor-based Indcoserve, the apex body of the Indco factories, who is also the Principal Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The high price now paid to the growers signifies that the profitability of Indco factories has increased, she stressed.

Highlighting specific achievements, she said that record prices have been fetched at Teaserve, the e-auction platform of Indcoserve, by Salisbury Indco factory at ₹158 a kg, Manjoor ₹140 and Panthalur ₹130.

Supriya Sahu attributed the improvement in quality to the success of ‘Mission Quality’ launched early this year which included monitoring by a professional team led by an Advisor, implementation by quality officers, adoption of Standard Operating Protocols, regular training and quality certification.

She disclosed that Indcoserve supplied 1,250 tonnes of tea to Kerala Government during the lockdown period.

It is proposed to introduce an award incentive scheme, launch new leaf blends and reorienting the brand image, she noted.

Besides, Indcoserve has planned to launch massive modernisation, rejuvenation and manufacturing of orthodox variety of teas.

“Indcoserve is in the process of obtaining certification on par with international standards including Trustea, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance to enhance the visibility of Indcoserve products”, Supriya Sahu pointed out.

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