TMCO move to boost State tea

GUWAHATI, February 18: Assam need not be awestricken at the recent amendment effected by the Central Government to the 1984 Tea Marketing (Control) Order (TMCO), done to free the tea companies from the obligation of selling atleast 75 per cent of their products through the tea auction centres of the country, as in the long run this amendment will prove to be beneficial for the tea industry of the State as well as those operating in the country, said former corporate Vice-President of Williamson Magor Gautam Prasad Barua here. Barua, talking to The Assam Tribune, however, admitted that on a short-term basis confusions and difficulties will arise in States like Assam, following the amendment to the TMCO, as tea marketing expertise is yet to acquire an expanded base among the people of these States. He also said that the apprehension over the possible damage the amendment can cause to the economy of these States in a lasting manner has practically come from popular ignorance of the basics of business economics and buttressed his point by drawing a parallel with England. In England, Barua said, tea auction centres had been abolished about one-and-half year back. Still, maximum trading of tea is taking place in England and the largest tea merchants are located in London, besides in Amstardam (Holland) and also in Germany, where no tea auction centre exists, he said. Commenting on the condition which necessitated the amendment to the TMCO, Barua said that as a fallout of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulation, tea from Lanka, Indonesia and China are being imported by India and these countries' products are posing a threat to our tea producers because of their cheaper rates. This difference in price is largely due to the comparatively low cost of tea production in these countries. These countries pay less to their workers engaged in tea plantation and produce huge surplus. This factor will result in a major slump in tea prices in India. But, if the present system of marketing the locally produced tea in India continues, the Indian tea industry is bound to face a major crisis in the days to come, he said.| Elaborating, Barua said, because of the presence of the system of brokerage, even the best tea produced in the country can fetch an amount of Rs 80 per kg for its producers, while the consumers are to pay for a kg of such tea between Rs 150 and Rs 200. The rest of the amount i.e., Rs 70 to Rs 120 - goes to the brokers, the owners and workers of the ware houses and to the retailers. Moreover the money spent on creating the market for the commodity is also to be borne from this amount. This is the prevailing economics of tea in the country, he pointed out. But, what will befall the approximately one lakh people engaged in brokerage if tea auction centres are made redundant in a backward State like Assam? Will they not make the already burgeoning army of the unemployed in the State to swell further?? In reply, Barua said that if the people connected with the tea industry in Assam try to grasp the market economy of tea and establish firm contacts with the established tea merchants of the country and abroad as well, in a well exercised manner they will be able to overcome the initial shock. "We must not remain the inferiority complex-ridden lot of people, the time has come to become resolute. Of course, it is no denying the fact that we have only an immature tradition of about 200 year-old (modern) business practice, (modern) that too, business as a profession started gaining social recognition in our State only about 60 years back. But, that should not come on our way to prosperity as a demoralising factor. We must try to meet the challenges thrown by the economy of this liberalised era with the equipment drawn from economics itself. The solution to this problem does not lie in any theory of politics or in any act of social protest", claimed Barua. He, however, refrained from making any comment on whether the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre could still be kept flourishing despite the amendment to the TMCO, saying, "I will be ever ready to tell the state Government what steps are to be taken to achieve that. But, for the time being, I would like to refrain from spelling them out openly so as to not create more confusion on the issue", he added.