Considering the immense popularity of Tripura Tea in North East India, the state government has planned to brand it on a national scale. The Tripura tea is ranked 5th in the national tea market.
Tripura Tea Development Corporation now wants to market this brand Nationally. Various plans have been chalked out for the exercise.
Course in Tea Management
Samir Ranjan Ghosh, the Chairman of TTDC told CNN-News 18, “We are planning to give this tea a National identity. We have more than 54 tea gardens. Nowadays, we don’t get much second-generation labour, because they are all educated, so we have planned to start a certificate course in tea plantation. Here, young people take this course and learn about Tea management. Six months of theory and six months of practical on-the-job training in tea estate will be provided in the course. This course will be available at MBB University. In this way, the Government also plans to employ more skilled white-collar job people in tea estates.”
Tea in Ration
The Tripura Tea Development Authority has also made arrangements to provide tea in Ration to increase its reach to consumers, who, on the other hand, benefit from the low cost. Generally, tea is sold in the market via auction. With tea in the ration, prices have gone down and it has reached more people, claimed authorities.
Tripura Wants to Export Tea to Bangladesh
Tripura Tea Board authorities are also working on a project involving barter of tea to Bangladesh in exchange for the Bangladeshi Hilda fish. The board is planning to host an international seminar to demonstrate the quality of their tea. Bangladesh buys 65 lakh kg of tea from Sri Lanka. Producing more than 90 lakh metric tons in a year, Tripura also wants to provide tea to Bangladesh.
Tea Tourism
There are 54 big tea gardens and 2800 tea growers in the state. Tripura Government is also exploring possibilities of Tea Tourism. One of the closest tea estates to Agartala, Durga Tea Estate already has Bungalows where tourists can go and stay. Sources close to the matter said the Tripura Government will also encourage homestays in tea estates.
Assam tea and Darjeeling tea are branded, so people know these brands from the British period but Tripura tea has developed indigenously. It has a different heritage and now the Tripura government is all set to market them nationally. There was a time when Russia used to buy tea from Tripura, and now the government plans to re-establish that branding itself.