Ilam, June 24: Tea industrialists in the Suryodaya municipality in Ilam have decided to close down tea factories, citing that the price of green tea leaves fixed by the local government is unaffordable. The Suryodaya Tea Association, an alliance of tea industrialists, has decided to cease the operations of 52 tea factories associated with it.
The local government last year developed the working procedure in regard with the determination of prices of green tea leaves and fixed its price Rs 40 per kg. But now, industrialists say in this season, they are unable to pay the set price. Earlier, the Association dispatched a letter to the municipality to inform that it was going to stop the operations from June 27.
Prior to this, they said they had been paying the price of green tea leaves as per its quality. The Association accuses the local government of fixing the price unilaterally. The Association claims the government never feels it necessary to understand the issues of tea industrialists and pushes tea industry business into the verge of closure, instead of promoting it. It also demands the local government to address the issue. RSS
