Kochi tea trade raises concern over introduction of Japanese auction system

The Tea Trade Association of Cochin has voiced concern about the introduction of the Japanese system of auction, indicating “it is now threatening to distort the flavour of the tea trade, even if the flavour of tea remains unchanged”.

“We have reason to be disheartened by this experimentation that has small to do with the floor fact,” stated Appu Kurian, the outgoing chairman of TTAC.

Addressing the 29th yearly typical assembly, he stated the auction system is predicated on its utility as a rate discovery mechanism and resolving the flow in the channel from the bush to the cup. A system that appears to do away with traditional acceptance of the optimum bid can’t truly be in sync with the goal, he stated.

“We urge the Tea Board to provide this proposal again to the drawing board so that fruitful conversations with the stakeholders could produce a reformulation that satisfies us to a T,” he stated.

The Tea Board as a facilitator ought to have been a catalyst for improvements that boost the worth-added chain of this critical sector, he added.

It might be recalled that the Japanese design auction system has been instructed by the Indian Institute of Administration Bangalore to boost the participation of potential buyers in the pan-India auction, to even further boost the current system for far better rate realisation, simplifying the system which could lead to an improvement in the high-quality of tea offered in community auctions.

Referring to production last yr, the chairman stated Kerala generated sixty three.09 million kg against fifty nine.05 million kg, displaying an raise of 4.04 million kg. The ordinary rate realised from the Cochin Auction Centre all through 2020 was Rs one hundred forty.forty two as against Rs 127.06 for Coonoor and Rs one hundred thirty.38 for Coimbatore. The full exports from South India stood at eighty four.15 million kg in 2020 as against ninety nine.80 million kg in 2019, with a minimize of 15.sixty five million kg.