- Suitable agro-climatic conditions.
- Traditional tea growing skills.
- Potential to increase the area under production.
- Tea Production with good qualities.
- Scope for setting up of Blending Units.
Tripura is a traditional tea-growing State with history of tea plantations dating back to 1916. Presently, there are 54 Tea Estates and 2755 small tea growers, producing over 73 lakh kg. of tea every year. This makes Tripura the 6th largest State among the 16 tea-producing States, after Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & Kerala. Some Tea Estates also produce Green Tea (Golakpur and Fatikcherra). Tea produced in Tripura mostly sells in Guwahati/ Kolkata Auction, although some portion of production is also sold locally or through marketing channels in Northern and Western India. Tea produced in Tripura is also being exported. Average Sale price realised by Tripura Tea in auction market is about Rs. 200/- per kg. Also, Tripura Tea is being supplied through Ration Shops in some areas of the state. The tea currently produced in Tripura is recognized for its good qualities. Some plantations in the State are going for organic and green tea manufacturing. There is considerable scope for investment in the tea sector of the State.
Tea Estates:
There are total 54 Tea Estates in the State, of which 3 Tea Estates are in Public Sector (TTDC), 12 Tea Estates in Co-operative Sector and 39 Tea Estates are in Private Sector. There are total 23 tea processing factories, of which 4 are in co-operative sector, 2 in public sector and 17 in private sector (two are non-functioning). This year total production of made Tea is 73 Lakh Kg
Small Tea Growers (STG):
Tea plantation by small tea growers started in Tripura in late 1980s. At present, there are about 2755 small tea growers having 1398 hectares of land under cultivation of Tea.
Recent achievements:
- Tripura Tea Logo has been launched in the year 2018 to have a recognition of Tripura Tea in the National/Global Market.
- TTDC Ltd. has developed the brand of “Tripureswari Tea” for the tea made in their factory.
- Steps have been initiated to set up more tea processing factories in both green tea, Orthodox and CTC tea.
- TTDC Ltd. has recently started distribution and selling of Tripureswari Packet Tea through PDS under Ration shops