[Assam] Tea auction goes digital to woo the West (The Telegraph, 06.12.2008)

[Buljit Buragohain]

Tea auction goes digital to woo the West- E-sales to provide global consumers easy access to orthodox tea once again 

A STAFF REPORTER





 


Guwahati, Dec. 5: In tea parlance, orthodox is forward-looking and the Assam government will re-launch e-auction at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) on Monday with an aim to providing Western buyers and consumers digital access to the much-sought-after Assam orthodox tea.
Union minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh will launch the new e-auction system and officially announce the Geographical Indication (GI) for Assam orthodox tea, considered a benchmark in the industry globally.
“The state government’s strategy is to promote orthodox tea, which is favoured by consumers in the Western countries,” Pradyut Bordoloi, Assam industries minister said over phone from New Delhi this afternoon. 
He said buyers of Western countries preferred “quick methods of doing business” and hence the system of e-auction becomes imperative.
“With geographical indication for Assam Orthodox tea as a vital tool, we can now go all out in promoting our teas. The bulk of the revenue would come from orthodox tea sale and that is why we are keen to promote it,” the industries minister added.
Though the GTAC had experimented with the e-auction as early as in June 2004, it did not take off fully due to several “glitches” in the system. 
“The flaws in the system introduced earlier were technical in nature and we had to discontinue it. But we have rectified them and brought in a new system,” an official at the auction centre said. 
The new system has been designed by NSE.IT, the information technology arm of the National Stock Exchange, which specialises in designing trading platforms.
A sum of Rs 18 crore has been invested in the new e-auction project. 
“The new system aims at reducing transaction time, make the auction sessions extremely flexible, simplify several tasks and provide an opportunity for better purchase planning. These benefits will boost the sale of tea through e-auctions in the country,” the official said. 
 
(The Telegraph,06.12.2008)


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