Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi declares tea as ‘State Drink’, calls for more research to beat competitors
By Ratnadip Choudhury
The price of Indian tea has fallen in the international market. India has come down to the fourth position from first in tea export largely due to lack of research
Jorhat, Nov 23 : Tea plants are said to have been first found in Assam way back in 1824. On Tuesday, Assam finally gave its cup of hot steaming tea its due honour. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi declared tea as the ‘State Drink’ of Assam on the sidelines of the of three-day World Tea Science Congress at the Tocklai Experimental Station (tea research centre) in Upper Assam’s Jorhat district.
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who inaugurated the international meet on tea research, went a step ahead urging New Delhi to declare tea as the ‘National Drink’. “Twenty-two per cent of tea produced worldwide is consumed in India; the country has been a major tea exporter and boasts of rich tea varieties. Moreover, tea is consumed by every class and community. So there is no harm if tea is declared the National Drink,” Kalam said in his inaugural speech.The Tea Congress is a Tocklai centenary initiative aimed to deliberate on new technical and scientific methods to improve tea production at a time when prices of raw tea leaves are falling down drastically and small and marginal tea growers taking a hit. Apart from participants from different parts of the country, delegates from China, Sri Lanka, the UK, Kenya and Japan are participating in the meet.
“We have to save the tea industry and ensure its growth; it is Assam’s prestige. We have already decided to declare tea as the State Drink,” said Gogoi. “The price of Indian tea has fallen in the international market. We have come down to the fourth position from first in tea export largely due to lack of research. Some countries where commercial growing of tea started much later are now giving us a big competition,” Gogoi added.
Taking note of what Gogoi said, Kalam said that the country had to plan and finance more research projects on tea. The ace scientist also felt that the Tea Research Association (TRA) should attract private investment and come up with a “comprehensive international marketing strategy” in association with the Indian Institutes of Management and like-minded institutions.
Scientists at the Station claimed to have created a new formulation that would enhance tea production by 25 per cent. At present, average yield per hectare of tea in India is about 2,000 kg. With climate change taking a toll on the tea industry, TRA feels that the new formulation will be a great boon. “The increase in temperature, erratic rainfall and the rise in carbon dioxide emissions are the latest problems the industry faces. Scientists from the tea-producing countries agree that climate change could adversely impact the tea industry,” said TRA Chairman DP Maheshwari. He added that the tea industry would have to think out of the box to devise a better marketing strategy.
Time for tea-based soft drink
A tea-based soft drink, the first of its kind, was test-launched on Tuesday at the Tocklai Experimental Station of the Tea Research Association (TRA) on the sidelines of the inauguration of the three-day long World Tea Science Congress in Jorhat.
The drink was ‘soft launched’ by former President APJ Abdul Kalam and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. The drink will have a shelf life of six months and will be promoted as a health drink. “It is tea liquor-based non-carbonated soft drink targeted for the younger generation as a health drink," informed Station Director Mridul Hazarika.
“Work on the tea-based soft drink was launched a decade ago by the research station to present something unique to the tea industry during its centenary year and research was undertaken in several non-conventional areas,” Hazarika added.
On 30 October, Tocklai had passed on the technology to Green Gold Assam Pvt Ltd, which will produce and market the product. A MoU has been signed between Green Gold Assam and Tocklai station for this purpose. Price and packaging of the product would be decided by Green Gold, but pricing would be competitive. “Ninety-five per cent of the drink contains tea and water and rest other permissible flavours,” Hazarika added.
Ratnadip Choudhury is a Principal Correspondent with Tehelka. ratnadip@tehelka.com
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