Agartala, Oct 27: Tripura will launch its first tea auction centre in Agartala on October 29, becoming the second state in the northeastern region after Assam and the fifth in the country to have such a facility, Tripura Tea Development Corporation Limited (TTDCL) Chairman Samir Ranjan Ghosh said on Tuesday.
The initiative aims to strengthen the marketing network for Tripura tea, reduce transportation costs and the time taken to sell tea consignments, and help growers secure competitive prices.
Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and the state’s Industries and Commerce Minister Santan Chakma are expected to attend the inauguration, Ghosh told a press conference. The foundation stone for the auction centre was laid in March 2024.
Tripura has 54 large tea gardens and around 2,800 small tea growers, producing approximately 9 million to 10 million kg of tea annually, according to Ghosh.
He said the state had so far depended on auction centres outside Tripura for marketing a substantial portion of its produce, with nearly 60 per cent of the tea relying on external auction facilities.
The new centre is expected to provide producers with more direct access to buyers, improve marketing opportunities for small tea growers and reduce the time required to sell consignments.
Ghosh said selling a tea consignment currently takes around 44 days and the corporation expects the new auction facility to reduce the time by approximately 40 per cent.
The corporation has held several rounds of discussions with buyers and brokerage firms in Kolkata and Guwahati to encourage their participation in the Agartala auction, he said.
Several reputed brokerage firms and buyers from different parts of the country have expressed interest in participating in the auction, Ghosh added.
The participation of buyers and brokers will be crucial to ensuring competitive bidding and expanding the market for Tripura tea, which has traditionally depended on external trading centres for a significant share of its sales.
The effectiveness of the new facility will ultimately depend on sustained buyer participation, competitive prices and the extent to which reductions in marketing time and costs translate into better returns for growers.
TTDCL Managing Director Rajesh Kumar Das was also present at the press conference.
