E-Brewing For More Business – Tehelka- E-Business

In a bid to revive the fading aroma of Assam’s tea industry, the joint forum of three Assam-based tea associations the Assam Tea Planters’ Association (ATPA), Bharatiya Cha Parishad (BCP) and North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) has now decided to usher in e-auctioning of tea. India’s first tea auction was held in Kolkata in 1861, and in 1970, the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre was established to market Assam tea better. With over a million workers directly employed by the industry in Assam, tea is the brew of business in Assam and the rest of the Northeast. Among the other proposals that closure of trade be under the respective price methodology; the same buyer be allowed to bid in multiple offers, quoting a different price and quantity; and that the reserve price be known only to the auctioneer and concerned seller. With the Tea Board electing to join the process, it’s possible that Assam’s most important industry is infused with a stronger flavour than at present. read more

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