GUWAHATI

Four Assam and West Bengal-based organisations associated with tea have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give tea producers the freedom to choose their mode of sale and not be forced to sell via public auction centres.

They said that the cost of selling tea through auction centres, mandated through orders issued in February 2024 and October 2025, often exceeds the net profit margin of tea producers and threatens to make the business unviable.