GUWAHATI:
A batch of Assam Orthodox specialty teas produced by Mokalbari Tea Estate was, on August 10, sold for Rs 22,000 per kg by Paramount Tea Marketing during an auction in Kolkata.
The price fetched by the teas, which were bought by Bhansali and Company, Kolkata for their Russian buyer Masterskaya of Tea, is said to be the highest received in the Kolkata auction so far.
“We have many buyers across the globe who are interested in such specialty teas. Mokalbari, one of the top Assam Orthodox manufacturers, rarely sells such specialty teas through auctions. Our buyer is delighted to be able to purchase these teas,” Bhansali and Co’s director Anish Bhansali said.
Ajay Jalan, director of Mokalbari Tea Estate, said, “We, usually, export such high-valued specialties to Europe directly and rarely sell through auction. These delicacies are handmade from a special cultivar of tea. We are happy to receive a good response from the auction buyers and will offer more such specialities in future.”
Set up in 1876 and located at Lahowal in Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district, the tea garden is one of the largest tea estates in the world having a sown area of 1022.03 hectares and producing 2.00 million kg teas annually with the well-trained labour force of 1,600. Mokalbari has two running factories capable of producing 2.5 million kg of both CTC and Orthodox varieties.