UPASI pitches in for Indian Tea Centres in Iran

Coonoor (Tamil Nadu), Sep 16: The United Planters Association of South India (UPASI) and Indian Tea Association are working out modalities to run India Tea Centres at Tehran and Cairo, UPASI president E B Sethna said here today.

Delivering presidential address at the 113rd annual conference of UPASI, he said the Centre had identified Pakistan, Iran and Egypt as markets of tea export and added that setting up of the tea centres would be in line with the suggestions of the Union Ministry.

Citing that capital funding alone would not help increase domestic and international market share, he called for more sustained efforts.

Inviting substantial and structural changes to increase production he said, Land Reforms Act hampered the productivity and added that the current labour legislation had helped only to constrain the industry from achieving the potential growth.

The spirit of the Minumum Wage Act was constantly subverted by the various state governments, Mr Sethna alleged.

Noting that India was the largest producer and consumer of tea, and an important player in the coffee market, he said the country was desisting from holding international conventions at regular intervals.

He also recalled that Union Minister Jairam Ramesh had announced to hold India International Coffee Festival in February 2007 at Bangalore and there after in every alternate years and India International Tea Convention at Guwahati in June 2007, he added.

UNI