The Calcutta Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) on Friday said that the Tea Board should continue to fund the auctioning system in six centres in the country till an alternative mechanism is put in place.

Nearly 600 million kg of tea is being handled annually in the six auction centres at present, CTTA secretary J. Kalyansundaram said.

“These centres use the NSE.IT platform which is completely funded by Tea Board. If the board decides to stop funding the auctioning system, there will be a sudden vacuum which the tea industry cannot afford to have,” Kalyansundaram said.

The CTTA oversees the auctioning system at the Calcutta centre.

Recently, Tea Board chairman P.K. Bezbaruah said that the government should stop funding the auctions and private parties with sound financial capabilities should be encouraged to come forward.

“The operating expenses of the auctions are now borne by the Tea Board. It charges 2 paise per kg of tea sold from the buyers, brokers and sellers to recover a part of the cost,” Kalyansundaram said.

He said there is no question of going back to the manual auction system.

“The existing platform is functioning properly and should not be shut down. If the board withdraws its financial support, the industry has to come forward. Things should not come to such a situation,” Kalyansundaram said.