Express Buzz.com
By P B Jayasankar
KOCHI: The Tea Board’s ambitious plan to migrate to 100 percent e-mode tea auction at Kochi went haywire as the tea buyers accused the Board of thrusting an ‘unfriendly’ system
on them. However, the Board claimed that the system was fine and was aimed at showering benefit to all in the tea industry.
The Tea Buyers’ Association president M K Ajit said that auction did not take place on the second day on Wednesday. Even as the Tea Board opened trading, there was no buyers willing to take part in the trade. He said that the transition from the hammer-and-cry mode to the e-mode was not smooth as there were several anomalies in the system and the buyers were not trained for the changeover. The bi-weekly tea auction could not held the previous week as part of preparations for the migration. This will lead to scarcity of tea in the market leading to increase in tea prices, he said.
When contacted, R Selvam, Assistant Director, Tea Development in the Tea Board, Coonoor, dismissed speculations that suspension of trading in the auction centre will lead to scarcity of tea or price rise.
Stating that the Board was willing to address the shortcomings of the system, Selvam refused to dump the system. He said that the system was being introduced with the resolution to work towards the benefit of all including small farmers. The system will be extended to all other auction centres in the country.
Ajit said failure of tea auction this week also would lead to piling up of tea. He said that a petition seeking stay of the system has been filed at the Kerala High court which will take up the matter on Thursday.
He alleged that trading in the auction centre was held under a system which was missing in the new system.
The shortcomings including lack of rules for operation were conveyed to the Tea Board authorities who he alleged did nothing to address the issue.
The association was not opposed to the e-mode of tea auctioning, he said adding that it only wanted that the transition should be done in a trouble-free manner.
