Tea Board chairman P. K. Bezbaruah has said that it is the right time that the statutory body should disassociate itself from the functioning of the auctioning system and usher in a liberalised regime where private parties can enter. Bezbaruah said that the Tea Board's role should only be restricted to issuing licences for opening up the auction centres after duly checking their financial capabilities.
He highlighted that the present auction scenario in north India represents a failure of the system as the purpose of discovering a fair price has been defeated. As per the Tea (Marketing) Control Order or TMCO, 50 per cent of the produce has to be mandatorily routed through the auctions. Varieties of tea are being sold at Rs 50 per kg or lower and even good quality primary tea fetches a price of Rs 60 a kg at the auction centres. He stated the same tea when offered outside the auction system is fetching prices which are higher by up to Rs 30 per kg.
He mentioned that the six auction centres in Cochin, Kolkata, Siliguri, Coimbatore, Guwahati and Coonoor are controlled and subsidised by the Tea Board. He added the software used by these units are also facilitated by it. He added if Tea Board denies technical support, these auction centres will immediately close down.