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India's tea industry survival at stake as market plunging

AFP, New Delhi
Indian tea barons are warning that plunging auction prices and a slump in exports are threatening the survival of their industry.
"There is no sign of revival in the immediate future and the current slump has been prolonged to such an extent that the survival of the tea industry is at stake," O.P. Chokhani, chairman of the Assam Tea Planters' Association (ATPA), told a meeting of planters at the weekend.
Since the beginning of 2002, a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of top quality Assam tea has been selling for at least 12-15 rupees (25-35 cents) less at weekly auctions than the amount it fetched three years ago.
Assam accounts for 55 per cent of the country's total annual production of 806 million kilograms and Chokhani said many gardens were finding it increasingly difficult to meet their wage bills.
Planatation owners say urgent
steps are needed to improve tea quality and jack up prices.
"A decline in domestic quality has led to a crash in prices triggering off the worst ever crisis in the past century for the Indian tea industry," said Aboni Borgohain, chairman of the Tea Research Association and a leading planter in Assam.
"The backbone of the industry could be broken if we don't take corrective steps to reduce the higher cost of production and check declining prices."
India is the world's largest tea producer, accounting for around 30 per cent of global production.
Its growers are also losing out on the global market.
"Last year, we lost Libya completely due to the supply of inferior and sub-standard quality teas and the scenario is grim with India losing export share to other tea-producing countries selling at a price much lower than us" Chokhani said
India's tea exports dropped by 27 million kilograms last year, largely to the benefit of rival producers Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Bangladesh.
Growers want the Commerce Ministry to fix a minimum floor price at the auctions, with producers having some say in the pricing.
The ministry has brought in leading financial consultancy Accenture to come up with measures for the industry.
In a recent report, consultants warned many plantations would be forced to close down unless "immediate action" was taken.
Beleaguered tea growers were thrown a partial lifeline in February by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha's budget, which offered two key incentives: a 50 per cent reduction in excise duty; and a hike in customs duty from 70 per cent to 100 per cent to keep out foreign competitors.