Tripura Opens First Tea Auction Centre, Targets Faster Sales

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Thursday inaugurated the state's first tea auction centre at Pandit Nehru Complex in Gurkhabasti, aiming to lower tea marketing costs and make it easier for local producers to reach buyers.

With the launch, Tripura becomes the second state in the northeast after Assam and the fifth in the country to have a tea auction centre.

The new facility is expected to reduce the need for producers to send their tea to auction markets in Guwahati and West Bengal. Much of Tripura's tea is currently sold outside the state, adding transportation costs and delaying sales.

Tripura Tea Development Corporation Limited (TTDCL) chairman Samir Ranjan Ghosh said nearly 60 per cent of the state's tea production is marketed through auction centres outside Tripura.

A consignment currently takes around 44 days to pass through the existing marketing process, Ghosh said. The corporation expects the Agartala centre to cut this period by about 40 per cent.

Tripura produces around 90 lakh to one crore kg of tea annually. The industry includes 54 large tea gardens and approximately 2,800 small tea growers, who account for nearly 30 per cent of the state's total production.

For these growers, the availability of a local auction platform could reduce the expense of transporting tea to other states. However, the benefit will also depend on how many buyers participate and the prices they offer.

Ghosh said TTDCL had held discussions with buyers and brokerage firms in Kolkata and Guwahati to encourage them to participate in auctions at Agartala. Several established firms and buyers have expressed interest in the new facility, he said.

TTDCL managing director Rajesh Kumar Das said the centre was designed to bring different sections of the tea industry onto a common marketing platform. These include tea garden owners, manufacturers, bought-leaf factory operators, workers, traders, and small growers.

Tripura's tea gardens are managed by TTDCL, the Tripura Cooperative Society, and private owners. Despite its established tea production base, the state has relied on auction facilities elsewhere to sell a substantial share of its output.

The foundation stone for the Agartala tea auction centre was laid in March 2024.

The centre's performance will now depend on whether buyers regularly participate in the auctions and competitive bidding helps producers secure better prices. The extent to which the new facility reduces marketing expenses will also determine its benefit to Tripura's tea growers.