Tea Board plans to regulate trade in poor quality tea

New Delhi News.Net Monday 7th July, 2008 (IANS) The Tea Board of India has proposed to chalk out regulations based on price benchmarks to curb export and import of poor quality tea within three months, said board chairman Basudeb Banerjee here Monday. Speaking on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of Calcutta Tea Traders' Association, he said the regulatory framework under the Tea (Distribution and Export) Control Order 2005, and under the provisions of the Tea Act, 1953, is already in place. This framework would be changed to replace quality-based norms with price-based benchmarks, he added. 'A control order based on quality certification by the Tea Board has been there. We will now try to stop export as well as import of poor quality tea, judging them on the basis of minimum price thresholds, which will act as a... [read full story]