Parliamentary Standing Committee discusses means to strengthen GI for Darjeeling tea

Darjeeling: Tea packs meant for export could soon have the ‘Made in India’ tag along with the region-specific reference (Darjeeling or Assam). This is on the lines of tea exports from other countries like Kenya and Sri Lanka.

The tea from Darjeeling or Assam would carry the ‘Made in India’ tag, stated Dola Sen, MP, Rajya Sabha and Chairperson of the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce. Members of the standing committee are on a study trip to Darjeeling, Assam and Kolkata.

The committee members met stakeholders of the tea industry and district administration representatives in Darjeeling on Tuesday to discuss various issues pertaining to the tea industry. “17 members of the standing committee were present at the meeting in Darjeeling. We had a threadbare discussion. The main issue that came up was the preservation and strengthening of the Geographical Indication (GI) for Darjeeling, as there have been reports of duty-free Nepal tea diluting the brand Darjeeling,” stated Sen.

Incidentally, the standing committee had submitted a report in both houses of the Parliament in March this year. In this report, concerns have been raised about the duty-free Nepal tea being blended with Darjeeling tea and being sold off as ‘Darjeeling.’ The report states: “In order to protect the GI tagged Darjeeling tea, the Department must take measures to check the import of duty-free, low quality, cheap tea coming from Nepal, which is being sold as Darjeeling Tea.”

“The discussion with stakeholders, including importers, revolved around this. There were important feedback and suggestions. On the lines of an Araku Valley Coffee outlet in Parliament, a Darjeeling Tea outlet could soon see the light of day in Parliament, stated Sen. This would create awareness about Darjeeling and would also promote the brand Darjeeling. “Very soon, a tea testing lab would also come up in the Darjeeling district in an attempt to reinforce the Darjeeling GI. The State Government is very serious about this. The Chief Minister has expressed concern and the district administration and police have been asked to keep a strict lookout,” added Sen.

The meeting also discussed more facilities for small tea growers. “Tea is a traditional agro-based labour-intensive industry with a lot of scope for value addition. We will soon have a meeting with the Agriculture and

Processed Food Export Development Authority to discuss how small tea growers can be benefitted,” added Sen. The members will hold a similar meeting in Guwahati on Wednesday.