Small tea growers get a fixed price floor for the leaf season

A minimum price for green leaf has been notified for the rest of the season, ending a month of protests outside bought-leaf factories in upper Assam.

Growers welcomed the floor but said it does not touch the older complaint: the weighing at factory gates. Deductions for “moisture and coarse leaf” are applied at the factory’s discretion and are not itemised on the receipt.

The directorate has asked factories to issue printed receipts showing gross weight, deduction and net weight separately from 1 September.