COONOOR: The imbroglio in the tea auction that adversely affected the tea trade over the past three weeks due to GST related issues has come to an end, as tea buyers have begun to take part in the tea auction here in Coonoor, the tea capital of the Nilgiris.
While major buyers, including corporate buyers, chose to boycott the tea auction in Coonoor ever since the GST came into being on July 1, it has subjected the tea industry and tea growers, especially the 60,000 families of small tea growers, to misery as the made-tea began to stagnate without being auctioned.
The stalemate, which continued over three weeks, crippled the tea economy and the income of the small tea growers. Finally, some solution has emerged as exporters and a few tea buyers took part in the tea auction on Thursday, which saw over 13 lakh-kg of tea auctioned. N.Varadharaj, general manager, Doddabetta Tea Factory, said that it was really good to see that the tea trade has begun to return to normalcy.
