ITA says the responsibility of popularising tea lies with the Tea Board of India. “Branding and creating awareness requires funding and it is here that we are looking up to the government for support,” said Arijit Raha, general secretary of ITA.
A higher demand for tea in the retail market necessarily implies higher price realisation. Sometime back, the Tea Board had undertaken a six-moth long branding exercise titled ‘Chai Piyo, Mast Jiyo’ which saw mixed responses. The ITA now wants the tea regulator to take the branding campaign further on the lines of the Rainforest Alliance which provides credibility to the producers for sticking to prescribed norms. A consumer survey on sustainable tea and coffee by ‘Trust Tea’ stated that consumers desired more information on the methods of cultivation, safety standards used, the social issues involved and the environmental impact of cultivating tea and coffee.
The study further stated that 47 per cent of those surveyed consumed less than two cups of tea in a day and 43 per cent were drinking between two and four cups of tea per day. Only six per cent consumed between four and six cups and four per cent consumed more than six cups of tea per day.
“In the last 10 years, while input costs have increased at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 10 per cent, tea prices have grown at a CAGR of only 6-7 per cent,” ITA Chairman Ashok Kumar Bhargava said.