Small tea growers seek MSP for green leaves

Kolkata, Sep 5 (PTI) Small tea growers (STGs) of the country have sought that the government should introduce a minimum sustainable price (MSP) for green tea leaves for the operations to become sustainable in terms of income and competitiveness.

A delegation of small tea growers, which met the officials of the Union commerce ministry recently, said that India's almost 2.5 lakh small tea growers contribute to more than 50 per cent of total crop produced in the country.

The STGs have sought an MSP of Rs 35 per kilogramme, which would protect them from making distress sales.

President of Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Associations (CISTA) Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty said that the ministry would commission a ground-level study and set up a national pricing committee for fair and transparent MSP implementation.

CISTA also sought that the STGs should be treated at par with the agricultural farmers and be allowed to avail the benefits of central welfare schemes.

Chakraborty said the ministry views that STGs are the backbone of the industry and will receive all policy support from the government. PTI dc RG