The small tea growers of Assam have demanded a ban on import of green leaves, and said the current slump in the prices was the result of manipulation by big tea companies taking advantage of absence of any regulatory agencies.According to the small tea growers, the slump is completely artificial and the bought leaf factories have joined in the `conspiracy'. On the other hand, the big tea companies are of the view that price is falling all over the world, and hence bound to affect the 24,000 small tea growers across Assam.

However, this contention is disputed by secretary of the Small Tea Growers Organisation Mr Hemant Kumar Gohain who claims ``the truth is that in the open market not a single rupee has gone down in the price of tea since the price crisis began last August, forcing many growers to burn their produce on the road''. He held both the bought leaf factories as well as big companies responsible for the crisis.

He urged intervention of the state government. ``This industry has literally solved the unemployment problem in upper Assam, changing the rural economy and concept of agriculture, without any help from the state government in the last one decade, and now it is time for the government to help us out,'' said Mr Gohain.

The state government, realising the gravity of the problem and its wider impact, has set up district level monitoring committees comprising members of the MNCs, factories and growers and even chalked out a formula. ``If that is actually done on the field it will be sufficient. But with no monitoring agencies to check the buying price, the problem has remained,'' Mr Gohain rued. The government does not have any policy on green leaves and hence the small tea growers are at the mercy of the big tea companies andfactories, he said and added "our cost of production is Rs 7.85 per kg which is very high. We are neither getting bank finance nor has the government helped in getting the land record straight,'' he added.

According to him, the bought leaf factories are mainly responsible for bringing in a bad name to the small growers. (07/12/2000)

Financial Express

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