One kg specialised Assam tea sold at record price of Rs 99,999

Guwahati, Dec 14 Setting a record, premium quality orthodox tea from a tea estate in eastern Assam's Dibrugarh was sold at Rs 99,999 per kg in the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) on Tuesday, officials said.

Breaking its own record set earlier, the Manohari gold tea of Dibrugarh was sold to Saurav Tea Traders with the highest bid of Rs 99,999 per kilogram at the GTAC. Last year, the the same was sold at Rs 75,000 per kilogram, the highest in the year, at the GTAC.

The tea estate owner Rajan Lohia said that they have created record once again. "Our 1 kg gold tea have fetched a record price of Rs 99,999 per kg at the GTAC. We always gave priority to the quality tea and under no circumstances we do not compromise on quality. We are very glad that once again we brought glory for Assam tea," Lohia told the media.

He said that they made the orthodox tea with the small bud and not from leaves with finest clove P-126. "Every year we target to produce 10 kg of gold tea but this year due to various reasons, including climatic conditions we produced two kg. For such tea production, the weather and soil quality of Assam is perfect. We only maintain the quality," Lohia added.

Saying that only quality tea can save the tea industry of Assam, the tea garden owner said that Assam tea is famous across the world because of its high quality. Manohari Tea Estate in Dibrugarh is spread around 1,000 acres of land employing 600 workers.

The three estates under the group produces about 25 lakh kilograms of tea annually. It created its first record in 2018 when a kg of orthodox tea was sold for Rs 39,001 to become the most expensive tea sold in any auction centre in the country.

In 2019, the same bagged Rs 50,000 per kg. Assam, which produces roughly 55 per cent of India's tea, has more than 10 lakh tea workers in the organised sector, working in about 850 big estates. Besides, there are lakhs of small tea gardens owned by individuals.