Tea Association of India (TAI) said, Erratic power supply is posing a “serious challenge” to the tea industry in Assam’s Barak Valley and has reported crop loss to the tune of approximately 5.5 million kg during the period March to June this year.
The crop outlook for the tea industry at this point of the season is in dark state, because of the prolonged period of lockdown and this can be gauged from the crop loss for the period mentioned above TAI Secretary General P K Bhattacharjee said in a statement.
Due to the pandemic, during the premium first flush period resulted in heavy loss and now there’s the issue of poor power supply which is adding to its financial misery. Posing a threat to its survival as the cost of production is increasing substantially, he said.
Bhattacharjee said: “The industry was struggling and staring at difficult times in terms of meeting its statutory obligations and the erratic power supply has made the situation worse for the tea industry in Barak valley”.
Power constitutes a major expenditure head for production of tea and the expenditure on captive power generation in absence of regular grid supply costs almost double with this being a pestering issue in the district.
Erratic grid supply with frequent interruption causes disintegration in the nature of tea made, thereby inflicting a loss in revenue in realization of tea prices. Longevity of the machines are reducing due to frequent tripping and also it damages electrical accessories of the machinery.
Cachar lies at the extreme southernmost part of Assam with communication problems and this has made getting coal for the industry a challenge as the rates of procuring the raw materials are excessive, Bhattacharjee said.
