... and more tea!
A special purpose tea fund is being set up by the Union Commerce Ministry to improve productivity through a large-scale rejuvenation and re-plantation programme. The programme will last for 15 years and started in November 2006.
“Improvement in productivity and quality through the well-conceived replanting and rejuvenation programmes will help the producers reduce the cost of production and at the same time generate surpluses”, said Union Minister of State for Commerce, Jairam Ramesh at a recent meeting of the United Planters Association of Southern India.
Giving a boost to the export of tea, the government has also identified Pakistan, Iran and Egypt as priority growth markets. Apart from sending delegations to these countries, the Ministry is looking at the possibility of opening “India Tea Centres” in Tehran and Cairo.
