India urged to drop auction quotas and adopt minimum price
Tea trade unions are urging India's Prime Minister to intervene in order to address some of the industry's most pressing issues as it faces a huge drop in first and second flush teas. Growers are campaigning to get rid of the mandatory auction system, whereby 50% of all tea produced has to be sold through auctions. They claim it disproportionately benefits middlemen and plantation workers. Furthermore, the unions are seeking to establish a minimum selling price for tea to compensate for increased production costs associated with increased use of irrigation and pesticides.