GUWAHATI: Scarcity of muriate of potash (MoP), which is vital for the tea bushes, has hit the Assam tea industry hard. Captains of industry pointed out that short supply of MoP will even affect the production in the coming season if the supply is not restored now.
BJP’s tea cell chairman and former general secretary of All Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association Kamakhya Prasad Tasa said it is alarming that MoP is not available in Assam. “The tea industry needs it right now as the fertilisers are applied right after the pruning of the tea bushes.”
He added it is ridiculous that minister of state for fertiliser Bijoy Krishna Handique, who is an Assam MP, is not aware of the problem. “The productivity of the industry is all set to take a beating and the production output will come down due to non-availability of the fertiliser. BJP will raise the matter in the Parliament.”
Assam produces 50% of the total tea produced in India. Assam agriculture minister Parmila Rani Brahma told ET: “We have received a memorandum from the industry on the crisis. We have even organised a meeting to sort out the crisis. I will take up the matter with Union government during a meeting on January 30 in New Delhi.”
A source in the tea industry said: “Assam did not get its allotted quota of MoP this year. The state requires 32,000 metric tonne of MoP annually. West Bengal has in place its required quota of 12,000 metric tonne. This fertiliser is generally applied during the Rabi season (October-March) for water retention. Earlier, it was a controlled item but now it is a de-controlled item.”
He added: “The state government appoints a nodal agency which supplies the fertiliser to the state industry. Earlier, per metric tonne of MoP used to cost around Rs 4,680, but now due to paucity it costs around Rs 8,000 per metric tonne in the grey market.
The item is subsidised by the government. The suppliers are stating that the short supply is due to the fact that the subsidy offered is not sufficient to meet the cost of procurement and cost of MoP has escalated in the international market. Prices had shot up from $270 to $400 per metric tonne since September 2007 while the subsidy per metric tonne is around Rs 600.”
Tea Association of India secretary Dipanjal Deka added: “We had a meeting with the officials of the agriculture department to thrash out the crisis, but no headway was made.”
BJP’s tea cell chairman and former general secretary of All Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association Kamakhya Prasad Tasa said it is alarming that MoP is not available in Assam. “The tea industry needs it right now as the fertilisers are applied right after the pruning of the tea bushes.”
He added it is ridiculous that minister of state for fertiliser Bijoy Krishna Handique, who is an Assam MP, is not aware of the problem. “The productivity of the industry is all set to take a beating and the production output will come down due to non-availability of the fertiliser. BJP will raise the matter in the Parliament.”
Assam produces 50% of the total tea produced in India. Assam agriculture minister Parmila Rani Brahma told ET: “We have received a memorandum from the industry on the crisis. We have even organised a meeting to sort out the crisis. I will take up the matter with Union government during a meeting on January 30 in New Delhi.”
A source in the tea industry said: “Assam did not get its allotted quota of MoP this year. The state requires 32,000 metric tonne of MoP annually. West Bengal has in place its required quota of 12,000 metric tonne. This fertiliser is generally applied during the Rabi season (October-March) for water retention. Earlier, it was a controlled item but now it is a de-controlled item.”
He added: “The state government appoints a nodal agency which supplies the fertiliser to the state industry. Earlier, per metric tonne of MoP used to cost around Rs 4,680, but now due to paucity it costs around Rs 8,000 per metric tonne in the grey market.
The item is subsidised by the government. The suppliers are stating that the short supply is due to the fact that the subsidy offered is not sufficient to meet the cost of procurement and cost of MoP has escalated in the international market. Prices had shot up from $270 to $400 per metric tonne since September 2007 while the subsidy per metric tonne is around Rs 600.”
Tea Association of India secretary Dipanjal Deka added: “We had a meeting with the officials of the agriculture department to thrash out the crisis, but no headway was made.”
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