Vice-President Calls for Modernization, Research and Strong Indian Tea Brands
Coastal Talk News | Bengaluru
Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan has called for greater research, modernization, branding and value addition to make Indian tea more competitive in global markets. He was speaking at the Centenary Conference of the UPASI Tea Research Foundation held at Coonoor in the Nilgiris on Monday.
Congratulating the United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI) Tea Research Foundation on completing 100 years of service to the tea industry, planters and workers, Radhakrishnan highlighted its contribution to tea research and sector’s development. He said India is among the world’s largest tea-producing and tea-consuming countries and stressed the need to strengthen research focused on cost-effectiveness, quality and productivity. He also called for modernizing tea factories, upgrading facilities and ensuring that Indian tea production meets global standards.
Vice-President urged producers and exporters to develop strong Indian brands to improve market positioning, revenues and prices. He also stressed the importance of value addition and greater use of India’s large domestic market. Highlighting the role of plantation workers, he said their welfare must remain integral to the industry’s growth and sustainability. “Industry welfare and workers’ welfare should go hand in hand,” he said.
