Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said, India is the second largest exporter of tea in the world, with production of approximately 255 million tonnes of tea annually. Speaking at the National Conference on Safe Tea Production in New Delhi today, Mr Goyal said that the government has come up with a thousand crore package and initiatives such as Chai Sahyog app for the welfare of the labour in the tea industry.

 

He added that the government is committed to harness best testing facilities to make tea industry a crucial sector for Viksit Bharat 2047. Further, Mr Goyal said that the country must develop new internationally competitive tea varieties to maintain the standards of Indian tea. He added that sustainable and innovative farming practices need to be adopted for the up skilling of small tea farmers.

 

The Minister said that the industry must focus on value addition of marketing tea to diversify the product range in both domestic and international markets. Mr Goyal urged researchers and scientists to leverage India’s diverse agro-climatic strengths to develop innovative varieties and high-value products that can unlock new export opportunities.