Dimapur, April 4 (MExN): The Atoqa Tea Producer Co Ltd, a Farmer Producer Company based in Nikhekhu village under Niuland district took part in the recent celebration of the 69th Foundation Day of Tea Board of India, which was held virtually.
According to a press release, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Ministry of Textiles, Government of India Piyush Goyal addressed the stakeholders of the Tea Industry on the occasion on April 1 and said tea is an integral part of India and the country should be made the “tea hub of the world”.
Addressing the virtual celebration, Goyal is said to have remarked that production and productivity of the commodity have increased, while the area under cultivation of the beverage has doubled. “There has been a massive transformation of the sector but this should not make us complacent from doing even better. We need to improve more in terms of quality,” the press release quoted Gotal as saying. India has a huge domestic market where 70 per cent of the total tea production is consumed but exports are “going down” despite the country being the second largest producer of the beverage in the world, Goyal said, according to the release.
The Minister is also said to have suggested exploration of new export destinations while pointing out the need to improve the aroma and taste of the commodity. There are so many varieties of tea available in the country, and these are widely accepted across the world, he said, adding that making the country a “tea hub” would not be much difficult, according to the release.
Meanwhile, the release stated that the company recently launched its own made in Nagaland, product Nagaland Premium Tea under the brand Northeast Brews, with Baichung Bhutia as the brand ambassador in March. Presently, the product is available for retail in all major towns of the state and other parts of the country.
Explaining about the product, the release stated that the product’s speciality is that it is single origin, high grown and shares similarities to teas from the Golaghat belt in Assam, which is known around the world as liquoring teas. Further citing ‘tea experts,’ it said the Nagaland Premium tea has a mix of Darjeeling flavour considering that the tea plants are grown in the foothill region at an altitude.
It also elaborated on some of the company’s activities which included recent promotional events, in partnership with Western Sumi Sports Association, YouthNet and Musika in Dimapur.
Simon Jyrwa, the commercial manager of the company , further stated that as part of its social responsibilities, it would be working closely with the local communities and small tea growers covering 11 villages and 175 ( STG )small tea estates covering 600 acres of plantation under Niuland District, to improve their quality of life and work towards sustainable rural livelihood, the release stated.
He further stated that good road infrastructure, regular power and support from the Government was the most critical factor under Niuland district. Presently, the company has also interacted with small tea growers from Jalukie and Peren areas, to facilitate supply fresh tea to the factory in Nikhekhu, considering that the factory which has the capacity to produce 5 lakh kg annually is presently functioning under capacity, the press release stated.
