Tea Board India, the authority that regulates the tea sector in the world’s second-largest producing country, wants a more transparent and cheaper auction system. Its main proposal is to cut the transaction fee from 12 to 7.5 paise for every kilogram of tea sold.
The reform also includes a new online auction platform, already introduced in Kolkata, Coonoor and Dibrugarh and due to be rolled out gradually to the other centres. The Auction Reforms Committee has proposed, in phases, new sampling rules, standardised lots, ex-estate sales and shorter lead times. The measures were discussed at a seminar held in Kolkata on 5 October.
The stakes are high: auction prices serve as the benchmark for the green leaf price paid to small growers. The pan-India e-auction system has been running since 2016, and the number of buyers rose from 1,702 in 2015-16 to 2,417 in 2025-26. Over the same period, the volume sold at auction climbed from 518 to nearly 644 million kilograms.
Source: Northeast Now