Tea business will be back in action at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) on April 23 with a good demand.

“We think market will open with strong demand and firm prices might be on dearer rates because in the last two months there was hardly any tea sold in auctions. There is virtually no tea in the market and buyers are looking for tea,” secretary of the Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers’ Association, Dinesh Bihani, said.

“We hope that tea producers will make good quality tea which will get strong demand and better price realisation,” he said.

He said the buyers’ association welcomes the state government’s decision to allow the GTAC and its constituents to resume their offices and operate in auctions.

It will help all the seller members who want to sell their tea immediately at the GTAC because due to lockdown they were unable to open their factories.

“This will be very helpful to reduce their cash crunch to some extent,” he said.

“The industry is already in a precarious condition. Tea prices have remained stagnant while costs have continued to increase, both for inputs and wages. Added to this, Covid-19 will have a huge negative impact on the financial condition of the industry” a tea industry official said.

Tea gardens in Assam have already resumed operations with 50 per cent working force. District magistrates of almost all the tea-growing districts of Assam have allowed resumption of tea garden operations by maintaining all Covid-19 safety protocols.

The Kamrup district administration has also set certain conditions, which include avoiding overcrowding by formulating an advance plan and liaison with the stakeholders, bare minimum officials and staff to attend with pool vehicles so that the obligation of lockdown is not hindered.

The authorities also directed that social distancing must be maintained along with strict maintenance of Covid-19 protocols.

“It will be difficult to tell if the demand will be sustainable in the long run or not. There is still some uncertainty,” an auctioneer said.

Dikom tea garden in Dibrugarh district has already produced tea and despatched it to its office in Calcutta.

Regarding export market, there is still uncertainty as Iran, which is a big buyer of orthodox tea, is hit by Covid-19 pandemic.

Another auctioneer said there are reports of China showing interest in CTC tea.

“All eyes are on the second flush in Assam and this is the time when producers make good tea and get good prices. We hope that it comes at the right time,” a tea producer said.