Specialty teas of Nilgiris to be displayed at GIM

Ooty: The Nilgiris specialty teas, being produced by small tea growers (STGs), will be displayed at Global Investors  Meet in Chennai. H.N. Sivan,  founder and chairman of the Nilgiris Tea Development Foundation, said the  65,000 Nilgiris micro and STGs had been ailing for the last 15 years since they were not getting remunerative prices for their  green tea leaves, whereas  for all other stakeholders, it was a profitable venture.

While the plight of STGs still continued, quite a few of them, with a view to augmenting their incomes, had started producing different grades of specialty teas such as  hand made green teas, white teas and oolong teas, by themselves and marketing them through different channels, including expos highlighting the medicinal and health benefits of these varieties.

These specialty teas of the STGs will be displayed at the GIM as part of marketing measures, Sivan said. He also said the Tea Board had now come out with new norms for regulating micro  and mini specialty tea factories, including providing 40 per cent subsidy for each project of the STG who could produce from 25 kg to 500 kg  “It is a welcome move because  it would transform the lives of tea producers and sustainability of  STGs.”