Tea industry's appeal to govt for revival

Guwahati: The Indian Tea Association (ITA) has appealed to the government seeking its intervention for revival of the tea industry.

Among the interventions sought from the government, the ITA on Thursday urged it to take over PF contributions for workers for three years.

The association also sought a ban on expansion of tea areas, to contain oversupply for five years.

The ITA made the appeal through an advertisement published in newspapers on Thursday.

The ITA also asked the government to consider substantial fund for generic promotion of tea the country and fix a Minimum Reserve Price for tea in auction, based on cost of production".

In the appeal, the ITA said that viability of the tea sector was necessary for security of employment of the million-plus workforce.

"The tea sector is incurring losses due to rising costs of production and stagnant selling prices," the ITA said.