STiR coffee and tea magazine

16 STiR coffee and tea | 2024 Issue 3 (June / July) Assam Bought Leaf Factories Threaten to Halt Production DIBRUGARH The association of bought leaf factory owners in Assam backed down from indefinitely shutting member factories hours before its June 1 deadline for a government response to remedy small tea growers' excessive use of pesticides. During a May 31 press conference, the Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manu- facturer's Association (ABLTMA) expressed concern that closing factories mid-harvest would idle up to 200,000 small tea growers who sell their tea at 200 factory locations. ABLTMA President Chand Kumar Gohain said government officials never responded to the ultimatum. He told the Times of India, "We are not against small tea growers, but their excessive use of pesticides is a major concern. We have been requesting the government address this issue, but there has been no response." In concert, the North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) is seeking a ban on the sale of six pesticides widely used in the state. These include Cyperme- thrin, Acephate, Imidacloprid, Acetamiprid, Dinotefuran, and Fipronil. The association says banning these readily available pesticides, approved for use on many plants but not tea, accounts for 90% of FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) issues. In April, a few factories temporarily closed in protest of a government decision to require all dust-grade teas to be sold at auction, where, unlike bought-leaf factories, tests are routinely conducted. Dust grades represent about 25% of tea processed in Assam and West Bengal. ABLTMA vehemently opposes mandatory auctions, arguing that the existing sales mechanisms are more beneficial and yield higher prices. India's new dust-grade tea reforms face fierce opposition. Moreover, it is aggrieved by the requirement to test green leaf produced at member factories to comply with food safety requirements, asserting that the grower, not the factory, is responsible for chemical and pesticide use. The association notes that factories in Assam and the Nilgiris are not equipped to test green leaves for various chemicals using a protocol developed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI). Factory owners say it takes several days to obtain test results. In March NETA Chairman Kamal Jalan passionately voiced his opposition at the organiza- tion's biennial general meeting in Golaghat, Assam. NETA also raised the issue of food safety compliance, calling for greater awareness among small tea growers, increased testing and facilities needed to conduct tests at factories, and a roadmap towards achieving 100% compliance with food safety standards. The Indian Tea Exporters (ITEA) issued a release that "strongly endorses" the requirement. ITEA Chairman Anshuman Kanoria writes, "The ITEA believes that this trial will afford much- needed transparency, comprehensive and legitimate testing of all production units per FSSAI protocol and incentivize better quality production for Indian tea lovers. "The Indian tea industry faces an oversupply of lower-quality teas, and questionable compli- ance standards, which are key to boosting tea demand domestically and overseas, have often been flouted. The government's resolve to make the tea industry cleaner is most heartening," Kanoria said. He added that ITEA believes that the 100% auction should also be extended to the export sector of Orthodox and Darjeeling teas to boost competition and price discovery. The Indian Tea Association (ITA), the country's oldest and largest association of tea producers, supports the three-month trial. "By default, it appears to be the only solution to detect and test maximum residue levels (MRL) transparently, that is, by channelizing this category (being representative of the overall production) to pass through a funnel where testing and detection would be possible," the association said. They added, "ITA pledges its unequivocal support to the Tea Board and the Commerce Ministry in this endeavor." The amendment to the Tea (Marketing) Control Order of 2003 requires all dust-grade tea manufactured in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal to be sold through public tea actions. It does not apply to mini-tea factories or the South India-producing states of Kerala and Karnataka. By Dan Bolton Tea Report

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