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INTRODUCTION

Assam is the largest producer of tea in India, contributing 55% of the country's production. Tea was discovered in Assam in 1823 by Robert Bruce and was introduced to India's botanical gardens. The East India Company then began developing tea plantations and trade in Assam. The first tea companies were established in the 1830s-1840s and tea was first exported to London in 1835. Today, Assam has over 850 large tea gardens employing around 600,000 workers, as well as over 200,000 small farms and gardens. Assam produces over 480 million kilograms of tea annually, making it the world's largest tea growing region.

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98 views3 pages

INTRODUCTION

Assam is the largest producer of tea in India, contributing 55% of the country's production. Tea was discovered in Assam in 1823 by Robert Bruce and was introduced to India's botanical gardens. The East India Company then began developing tea plantations and trade in Assam. The first tea companies were established in the 1830s-1840s and tea was first exported to London in 1835. Today, Assam has over 850 large tea gardens employing around 600,000 workers, as well as over 200,000 small farms and gardens. Assam produces over 480 million kilograms of tea annually, making it the world's largest tea growing region.

Uploaded by

NIRANKAR1989
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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INTRODUCTION

Assam is the biggest producer of quality tea in India, contributing about


55% to Country’s total tea production. It is generally believed that the people of Bodo
tribe brought tea in Assam (Indialine 2008) but they produced for themselves and
hardly took it outside Assam. As pointed by Bhuyan (1974) the Tea plant was
discovered in 1823 by Robert Bruce, merchant and soilder of fortune , during his visit to
Rongpur , where he was imprisioned by the Burmish Singpho chief furnished Bruce
with some plants. In 1824 Robert Bruse gave some plants to his brother C.A.Bruse
who handed them over to David Scott in turn gave a few specimens to the Botanical
Garden, Calcutta.

History

The discovery of Tea plant in Assam enabled the East India Company to
develop a trade, which China had hitherto monopolized Bruse was appointed
superintendent of the Government tea forest , who in 1837 sent 46 boxes of Assam tea
to the tea committee. When in 1824, Dr.N.wallich of Botanical Garden identified this
specimen in the beginning of the scientific study of tea in India. Dr.wallich visited
Assam in 1824 and submitted his report in 1835. The Assam company was accordingly
formed in England in 1839 with a capital of Rs 5 Lakh. The Assam company with its
headquaters in Nazira is the oldest Commercial tea company in assam which is still
functioning .The second company was formed in 1859 as the Jorhat Tea company and
even today its central office is at Jorhat. The first consignment of 12 boxes of tea
manufactured by the Singpho chiefs were shipped from Calcutta to London in 1835.
The first auction took place in London on May 26,1841which was conducted by the Ms
Mckenzie Lyll & company 35 chest of tea made by the Singpho and 95 chest by the
government plantation of Assam were offered ( North East Enquirer, 2002). The
biggest Tea research centre in the world , now situated in Jorhat was started in calcutta
in 1900 by the India Tea association . In 1904, a laboratory was started at Heelea-Kah
Tea Estate near Moriani. In 1912, the laboratory was shifted to Tocklai (Jorhat) and
was renamed as Tocklai Experimental station became Tea research Association (TRA).
The first Indian to start planting of tea was an assamese nobleman Maniram Dutta
Burma, popularly known as Maniram Dewan . He was a dewan of assam company until
resigned in 1841 to start his own tea estate . He had two gardens at Johat and near
Sonari but the British hanged him 1858 for taking part in mutinity in 1857. After
Maniram Dewan pioneering efforts ,many others , mostly Assamese, came forward to
plant tea . Someswar sharma became the first Indian superintendent of the tea industry
of the Manband Tea company . After independence things started changing. The
british dominated industry changed hands. Although the Jalans, Saharias,
Ahmeds,Kanois,Darshan, lalls and few others were already there , the reputed
industrialists of India Birla, Poddar,Paul, Shetia,Rhuhia and Tata amongst the others
became the biggest producer of tea . From 1823, the tea industry of assam valleycame
a long way. Today thwere are about six lakh tea garden workers engagedin 850 tea
gardens (North East Enquirer, 2002). Cinnamora tea estate first tea garden of Assam
established by Maniram dewan in 1850.

According to a report (North East Enquirer, 2002) in the year 2000, the
total area of Assam under tea production was 26739 hectares and total production of
tea was 451263 thousand kilograms, thus showing a yield (Kg/hectare) of 1688.
However in 2001,the production of tea dipped to 450132 thousand kilograms, thus
falling by 1104 thousand kilograms from the previous years production . The 2001
figures of Indian Tea export (in million kgs) show a total figure of 164.19. The main
countries to which the tea is going are US countries (including Russia and
Khazakhistan ) 77.46 million kgs; UK -15.41 million kgs ;UAE-19.65 million kgs; Iran-
14.14 million kgs; Polland-7.59 million kgs and USA-5.35 million kgs. According to the
directorate of Tea , Govt. of Assam , there are about 28,000 small tea gardens in the
state producing about 70 million kgs tea annually ( cf. 451 million kgs mentioned above)
According to another report Assam has over 800 tea plantation that are medium to
large size . There are also over 2,00,000 small scale cooperative and individual tea
farms. On an average , Assam produces over 480 million kilogram of tea per year ,
making it the largest tea growing region in the world ( North East Enquirer, 2002).The
state government Is thinking of registering the small tea gardens with the labour
department. The tea board has opened a cell at the Assam Agricultural University to
train small tea growers with the aim of improving the quality of Assam tea. A similar
training session for small growers would also be started at Tocklai Research station .
According to the tea board , a cooperative of small growers was floated in Assam and
the tea board would help it to purchase a factory of its own which in turn would help to
produce quality tea. Recently a group of tea makers of small tea growers from Assam
visited Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh to learn about mechanized plucking and
new methods pruning tea bushes. Kangra valley is famous for producing of orthodox
tea of high quality . The group that was sponsored by the tea board returned with a
wealth of information. The tea board will also introduce an export rating system soon to
control the Quality of Assam tea. The tea garden Research Association is also taking
measures in Tocklai (Jorhat) for producing quality tea.

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