Agartala, Sep 11 (IANS) Tripura tea on Friday made its debut in the European market with the dispatch of a 15.31-metric-tonne consignment, the largest-ever single outbound tea shipment handled by the Tripura Tea Development Corporation Limited (TTDCL), officials said.

The high-quality tea consignment, weighing 15,310 kg, was formally dispatched from the Central Tea Processing Factory (CTPF) at Durgabari in West Tripura for export to European countries via Kolkata.

Industries and Commerce Secretary Kiran Gitte, TTDCL Chairman Samir Ranjan Ghosh and Managing Director Rajesh Kumar Das flagged off the tea consignment on Friday.

Ghosh said the shipment marked a significant milestone in the state’s efforts to take Tripura tea beyond geographical boundaries and gain access to wider international markets. The consignment is almost twice the corporation’s previous largest outbound shipment of 8,200 kg sent to the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre earlier this year, reflecting the growing commercial potential of Tripura’s tea sector.

The development is expected to create new opportunities for local tea producers and strengthen the state’s position in the international tea market, he said.

According to Ghosh, the state government is also working to establish an Agartala Tea Auction Centre to improve marketing and price realisation for tea growers and manufacturers.

The proposed auction centre is expected to bring tea growers, manufacturers, brokers, buyers, warehouses and other stakeholders onto a common technology-driven platform. Electronic bidding and wider participation are envisaged to facilitate competitive price discovery and expand market access for Tripura-produced tea.

According to TTDCL officials, the auction centre could also reduce expenses related to freight, warehousing, sampling, handling and other logistics, with estimated savings of around Rs 6-10 per kg.

For decades, Tripura has had considerable potential as a tea-producing state, but challenges relating to marketing, branding, logistics, price realisation and access to larger markets have remained.

The government now aims to develop the state’s tea sector beyond production and establish Tripura as a major tea-trading hub in the Northeast, which could help attract investment and generate employment while strengthening the supporting infrastructure and commercial ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Tripureswari tea is also being distributed through local ration shops, helping increase access to the state’s tea products. Currently, Tripura has 54 sprawling tea gardens, including a few run by the state-owned TTDC and the Tripura Cooperative Society, as well as privately owned estates.

Around 2,800 small tea growers contribute nearly 30 per cent of the state’s total tea production, which stands at about 90 lakh kilograms annually. More than 60 per cent of this production is presently sold through auction markets outside the state.

Tripura is also set to have its own tea auction centre by next year, a move expected to give a major impetus to the state’s beverages industry.

–IANS

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