Amalgamated Plantations operates gardens in Assam and Dooars
Amalgamated Plantations (APPL) Head Resigns
Vikram Singh Gulia, MD and CEO of the Amalgamated Plantations Pvt. Ltd. will leave on 30th June 2024. He is the second head of one of the top five tea corporations to resign this year after Atul Asthana’s exit from the Goodricke Group. The APPL Board has appointed Sukhjeet Singh Malhotra, Vice-President – PSO, Tata Consumer Products, as Wholetime Director and CEO Designate, effective April 9th, 2024. The Amalgamated Plantations include 25 estates in Assam and the Dooars, producing 40 million kilos of tea annually, making them India’s second largest tea producer.
Vikram Singh Gulia
High Grown First Flush Sees Lower Yield but Better Quality
The prolonged drought from October to March in north India has impacted tea crops in north India. The first flush picking began in late March; although rains have started, the crop is still in low quantity. This is seen in Darjeeling and Kangra. Vivek Lochan of Doke Tea says quality has been good and better than in recent years, thanks to the drought-induced slow growth. In Kangra, volume has also been impacted, although tea quality is up. The first flush verdict is low crop but good quality, sweet teas, better than in recent years. How the market responds is to be seen.
Assam BLF Association Factories Refuse to Process Non-Compliant Tea
The Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers Association (ABLTMA) asked its member factories not to accept non-certificated green leaf from smallholders. The association’s 110 bought-leaf manufacturers oppose mandatory auctions and emphasize compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) norms but insist that sellers present a NABL-Lab MRL certificate attesting to the tea’s safe use. The association claims a higher price realization when selling directly to buyers and has questioned the tea board’s decision.
FSSAI discovered high non-compliance rates after its laboratories were ordered to test samples from a much larger pool of factories. The government mandate to sell 100% of dust-grade teas at auction followed.
In direct and auction sales, buyers assume responsibility for determining the tea’s safe consumption. Testing for compliance with FSSAI thresholds for 33 chemicals is more rigorous at auction than in direct transactions.
Assam’s BLFs are the state’s primary producer. A single BLF may source from upwards of 400 small tea growers via an agent. The problem lies in two parts: there is no single list of chemicals allowed and disallowed. The FSSAI and the Plant Protection Code each have a set of permissible chemicals. Second, small tea growers are not fully aware of the problem of chemical usage and the need for compliance with prescribed chemicals, which necessitates a lot of education at the grassroots.
One bought leaf owner called for a ban on the disallowed chemicals in the state, which would address the issue to some extent. However, what’s banned for tea may be allowed for other crops. This raises the question of why tea is under the spotlight now. They also say chemical testing is impossible at the factory. If tests were done and the chemicals exceeded FSSAI thresholds, it would be difficult or impossible to trace the contaminated tea to its source. No infrastructure is available for checks at this stage, which is first needed. Following the call to stop production, the Assam state government has intervened, and stakeholders expect a resolution. The factory managers say they are committed to processing compliant tea, but that needs to be enforced by the tea board at the grower level. Concerns with compliance are not limited to BLF, as many estates also procure green leaf from small tea growers.
UPASI and Tea Board announce the 19th edition of the Golden Leaf Competition
This year’s theme at The Golden Leaf Awards India is TGLIA Teas for Markets. 124 teas have been received from 38 factories across south India, covering the Nilgiris, Wayanad, Anamalais, High Ranges, and Travancore. The first tasting took place on March 30th at Coonoor. Details of the final round have not yet been announced. The competition’s teas will be auctioned on April 22nd.
Elections Present Darjeeling Planters an Opportunity to Seek Intervention
With 2024 being an election year, Darjeeling planters are asking the Centre to intervene and rescue the tea industry from its current crisis. The region has a significant bank of voters from the tea growers’ community, and they expect to be heard.
Weeks before the polls, Darjeeling’s north Bengal hill constituency is grappling with fast-changing political equations. According to reports in the Indian Express, leaders are switching their allegiances, and parties are receiving support from unexpected quarters.
The political landscape in the constituency has always been tumultuous, with regional forces playing a deciding role in sealing the fate of national party candidates amid the overriding sentiment of separate statehood demand (Gorkhaland).
The BJP has won the constituency since 2009. Unlike previous winners (Jaswant Singh and SS Ahluwalia), Raju Bista has been given a party ticket to retain the seat he won in 2019 by a landslide margin of over 4 lakh votes, writes Indian Express.
The Colombo Tea Traders’ Association and Sri Lanka Tea Board will host the Colombo International Tea Convention (CITC) at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel from July 24 to 26.
The convention theme is “Tea: A Lifestyle & A Livelihood.” The event will explore Ceylon tea’s pivotal role, spark conversations, and inspire action toward a sustainable tea industry.
The program includes 50 speakers and will unfold in eight sessions over three days. Events include an outcry auction, gala dinner, and beach party on closing night. A Ceylon Tea Tasting Experience will introduce attendees to Sri Lanka’s growing regions.
Sessions include “Fair Price as a Global Challenge,” a topic of utmost relevance in today’s tea industry; an “Ozone Friendly to Zero Carbon” session on climate; and a conversation about the “Value of Tea.” Sri Lanka has emerged from financial, political, and social turmoil, addressed in a session on “The Resilience of Tea & Its Legacy.”
BIZ INSIGHT — I will moderate the Friday discussion on “Innovation,” which features a panel of ag technology experts presenting innovations such as streamlining financial transactions, online markets, new traceability tools, digital identification, and cloud-based analysis of tea as a service.
Colombo International Tea Convention | Episode 161
Usambara Tanzania 2023
Dan Bolton
Dan is a niche content creator who fosters genuine connections globally through informative, educational, and captivating conversations centered around tea. Host | Tea Biz Blog | Podcast
The Telegraph reported that the Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturer’s Association unanimously opposed the tea board’s order for 100% of dust-grade tea to be sold via the auctions. Their view is that their existing sales mechanisms bring higher price realization when compared with auctions. The members also opposed the demand on the Bought Leaf Factories to test all the green leaf sourced and tea produced at their factories for food safety compliance, stating that the use of chemicals and pesticides was by the grower and not at the factory. They have also said they will cease manufacturing operations starting 1st April 2024 to protest against the non-compliance of green tea leaves.
Assam to See a Significant Drop in First Flush Production
North India has been seeing a dry start to the year, which has impacted tea production. The first flush plucking expected to begin in early March has been delayed due to lack of rain. Media reports quote planters as saying the crop will be about 40% lower than average production for the season. Assam production in March 2023 stood at about 34 mn kilos. All eyes are on April to see if the first flush will meet expectations. Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Kangra have also had a late start to the season because of prolonged dry weather.
HUL Offers Interventions to Support Indian Tea
Hindustan Unilever, which owns tea brands Brooke Bond, Taj Mahal, and Taaza, partnered with the Tea Research Association of India to promote regenerative agriculture. HUL and TRA plan to undertake a “Life Cycle Analysis” to develop strategies to reduce carbon impact. This will cover 19 tea estates/factories and 19 small tea growers across 15,000 hectares in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. HUL is also expected to invest in Assam to enhance value addition in tea. Economic Times
India mandates that all tea dust must be sold at auction
NETA Opposes 100% Dust Auction
Kamal Jalan, Chairman of The North Eastern Tea Association (NETA), spoke on the challenges facing the Assam tea industry and the way forward. The Association, which held its biennial general meeting in Golaghat, Assam, on March 13, has spoken against the latest government order for 100% of Tea Dust to be sold via the auction system, calling it detrimental to the industry’s survival. They 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. They also raised the issue of stopping tea production in winter, which is now practiced in north India. The Association has said they do not favor reducing production but instead focus on the generic promotion of tea in the domestic market, aiming for per capita consumption of 1 kilo.
Safe Tea Comes into Focus
Indian tea is seeing a renewed and determined march towards food safety. After coming under constant flak, 2024 opened with the Food Safety Standards Association of India, calling for more compliance and partnering with the tea board to see how this can be effected. It’s good to see it in action. Last week, the FSSAI led a training session in the Nilgiris on safe and hygienic tea production practices for small tea growers. In North Bengal, the domestic certification body Trustea partnered with the association of small tea growers for training on pest control, soil health management, and pesticide use.
India Sends Delegates to Iran
Iran, once a big buyer of Indian tea, has ceased to import the same volumes as before. The Mint reported that tea shipments to Iran have dropped from 54.5 mn kilos in 2019 to 5.2 mn between January and November 2023. Iran is still considered an important export market; a trade delegation is planned to dialogue with Iranian authorities. Shipping disruptions and payment challenges aside, Iran had an internal crisis in November 2023 when tea importer Debsh Tea Company was embroiled in a $3.4 billion embezzlement scandal. India’s tea exports to the UAE dropped 25% from 2022 to 2023.
