Just two months after resuming ops, tea auctions come to a halt at Jalpaiguri Centre

Jalpaiguri: Just two months after resuming operations, the Jalpaiguri Tea Auction Centre has once again come to a grinding halt. Despite buyers making timely payments, persistent delays in invoice generation have caused major disruptions—prompting key buyers to pull out and suppliers to stop sending tea consignments.

Sources confirm that several major buyers, after paying online, did not receive their invoices on time, preventing them from collecting tea from warehouses. As a result, most bought-leaf factories and even a few large estates suspended supply to the centre from July 28 and August 4, bringing the auction process to a complete standstill. The last auction took place on July 21 under Sale No. 29. No auctions could be held on the following two scheduled dates—July 28 and August 4—due to a lack of incoming tea. From June to mid-July, the centre had seen a promising restart, auctioning 16,279 kilograms of tea at prices ranging from Rs 116.32 to Rs 193 per kilogram. Around 95 per cent of the tea auctioned came from bought-leaf factories, but with supply now cut off, the flow has completely dried up.

Sanjay Dhanute, President of the North Bengal Tea Producers’ Welfare Association and Chairman of the Tea Auction Task Force, expressed deep concern: “We worked tirelessly to revive this centre. But after making payments, buyers had to wait days for invoices. Brokers lost interest and when trucks were sent to pick up tea, they couldn’t load anything due to delayed billing. In such a situation, how could we keep sending tea?”

He added that repeated appeals have been made to the Tea Board: “We’ve demanded same-day billing through the Deal Book method. Now, we await the Board’s response.”

Originally inaugurated in 2008, the Jalpaiguri Tea Auction Centre shut down in 2014 due to poor supply. Its reopening this May was hailed as a breakthrough for the region’s tea economy. Jalpaiguri MP Jayanta Ray said: “I’ve been informed about the issue and will be speaking with the Tea Board.” Vice-chairman of the Auction Centre, Purajit Bakhsi Gupta, stated that every effort is being made to resume operations. Attempts to reach Tea Board Assistant Director Samaresh Mondal for comment were unsuccessful.