Can Small Tea Growers break dependence on agents for real value?

Guwahati: How would Small Tea Growers (STGs) get real value for their produce, if they have to depend on agents to supply to the bought leaf factories?

With 90 percent of STGs in the country supplying green leaves to factories through agents, true price realisation for growers would be impossible.

A study report by BDO LLP commissioned by Tea Board India to determine the price sharing formula in the plantation districts of the country says agents play a crucial role in the tea value chain in major tea growing states, as they collect green leaves from various small tea growers, aggregate them, and transport them to the factories.