By Baldev S. Chauhan, IANS
Shimla : Tea planters of the Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh have been urged during the Kangra tea conference to improve the quality of the local tea to help it survive and compete in the global market.
The two-day tea conference on issues affecting the Kangra Valley tea industry ended late Wednesday in Palampur town, some 260 km from here.
The meet was organised by the Kangra Valley Small Tea Planters Association, the Palampur Agriculture University in association with the Tea board of India and others.
“The quality of the Kangra tea must go up if it is to survive and compete with tea from other parts of the world,” said S.S. Johal, an eminent economist who addressed delegates at the conference.
“Since the Kangra tea is known more for its flavour than its colour, it must further improve its flavour and market its products in a far more professional manner so that it will be known more widely,” said Johal.
“Most of the small farmers have sold their tea gardens to big farmers and the big farmers are now simply running these farms to avail the subsidies provided by the government,” he said.
The production has dropped drastically in recent years, as far cheaper tea from other places of Asia has dominated the market.
Many believe that since the tea gardens in the valley are old, new ones needed to be planted in the region to improve the flavour.
The British had first planted tea gardens in and around the scenic town of Palampur in the Kangra Valley in 1882.
Even though the production of the tea is negligible, compared to the rest of the country, Kangra tea is in high demand in Afghanistan, as well as in some pockets of India.