The Hindu : Business : Tea growers get relief under price band

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 11, 2006

Business

Business

Tea growers get relief under price band

Special Correspondent

Band is calculated on the basis of seven years' moving average

NEW DELHI: The Central Government has announced financial assistance of Rs. 74.41 lakh for 14,882 tea growers during the current financial year based on the price spectrum band scheme for 2005. Under the system, being operated by the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) Trust set up in April 2003, financial relief is provided to growers of rubber, coffee, tea and tobacco when prices of these commodities fall below a specified level.

The price spectrum band has been announced for rubber, coffee and tea, according to an official release. The band is calculated on the basis of seven years' moving average of international price for the commodity. The annual average domestic prices during 2005 were Rs. 56.50 a kg for tea, Rs. 53.65 a kg for coffee-robusta, Rs. 104.34 a kg for coffee-arabica and Rs. 60.68 a kg for natural rubber.

The release says that 2005 has been categorised as a boom year for rubber, coffee robusta and coffee arabica and a normal year for tea. As no tobacco grower was enrolled under the scheme during 2005-06, the price spectrum band had not been fixed for tobacco. On the basis of the Price Spectrum Band 2005, a total of 14,882 tea growers would receive financial assistance from the PSF Trust during the current year, it was stated.

The scheme is based on the principle of contribution from the growers and from the government depending on the boom and normal or distress years, with a provision for withdrawal by the growers during a distress year, the release says. The contribution of the participant growers as well as that of the government is credited to the savings bank account of the participant growers, opened for the purpose with any nationalised bank. The contribution of the participant grower and the government to the growers' account and withdrawals are decided with reference to the price spectrum band fixed and announced every year.

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