India could soon have a regulator for the tea industry to check the quality of the tea exported, minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh said on Monday.
Ramesh said quality control of Indian tea is becoming an issue in international markets.
?I entirely agree with the proposal that we need a regulatory framework. It does not mean a revival of the license-control raj,? Ramesh said, while addressing the 115 th annual general meeting of Calcutta Tea Traders Association.
The proposal had been made by the Tea Board, an autonomous body under the commerce ministry.
?We support this move as the government will use its regulatory powers to stop export of poor quality product that was hurting exports,? Basudev Banerjee, chairman of Tea Board of India, said.
?We will send the proposal to the ministry in the next two months,? Banerjee added. Meanwhile, raising questions over the low returns to tea growers despite high prices, Ramesh said only 40% of the price paid by the consumer reaches the producer.
?How does a tea that is auctioned at Rs 80-90 per kg end up at Rs 350-400 per kg at the retail end? Somebody is stepping the bill up,? he said adding that the challenge lies in bridging the gap between price paid by consumers and that earned by the primary producer. Pitching for modernisation of tea industry, Ramesh said measures like e-auction would reduce the gap between primary producers and consumers. Seconding his view, Azam Monem, director of McLeod Russel India, said,?With modernisation of the supply chain we will be able to reduce the gaps.?