Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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INDIA WILL BE MAJOR PLAYER IN TEA INDUSTRY : ANAND SHARMA
Kolkata : September 23, 2009
The Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Shri Anand Sharma has assured the Tea-Industry that the government is aware of the specific problems and difficulties of the industry. He was speaking as the Chief Guest at the 126th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Tea Association in Kolkata today.
The Minister asserted that the government has been sensitive to see that India remains a major global player in tea industry. 23% of total tea export in the world is from India. The Indian tea industry has almost quadrupled since tea production started in 1951, the minister informed. India is the largest black tea producer in the world. The Minister stated that the government, industry and banks are coming together and their joint endeavor will be to see that the tea industry remains dynamic and continues to grow. However, the Minister rued the fact that many tea estates are not reinvesting the money for rejuvenation and replantation. "What should have been done is not being done" the Minister said. Shri Sharma informed that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with ASEAN signed in August is yet to be operationalised. He also informed that the union cabinet has decided to form an empowered committee to look into the problems of the plantation sector.
Dwelling on the global economic recession the Minister said that truly this is difficult economic time. "I would like to tell the industry that in this difficult time it is expected that we work in a coherent manner for long term benefits. For long term it is better to plan now" the Minister iterated.
Regarding the closed tea gardens of West Bengal the Minister informed that out of the nine closed gardens one will be opened very soon and hence eight more will remain closed. The Minister expressed his firm hope that India has the ability and human resources to be a major global player in tea industry.
SC/spandey
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