Guwahati: Assam’s tea trade gained a new market hub on Friday with Dibrugarh becoming the state’s second tea auction centre after Guwahati, bringing organised price discovery closer to one of the country’s major tea-producing belts.

The inaugural e-auction conducted by Assam Chai Bazaar at H.M. Resort in Dibrugarh is expected to reduce the logistical burden on producers who have traditionally had to move tea to auction centres in Guwahati and Kolkata, incurring additional transportation and handling costs.

The development is particularly significant for tea producers in Upper Assam, including growers in and around Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sivasagar and Charaideo.

The first auction attracted 126 sellers and more than 50 buyers, with 18 buyers participating in the inaugural sale.

Tea Board India issued the Auction Organiser Licence to Assam Chai Bazaar on July 18, and the first auction was conducted within about two months.

Tea Board India Executive Director, North Eastern Zonal Office, Arunita Phukan Yadav, welcomed the new auction centre and said it must operate in accordance with the rules and directives governing tea auctions in the country.

She also called for efforts to bring more buyers onto the platform to strengthen competition and ensure better price discovery for sellers.

The inaugural auction offered more than 2.23 lakh kg of CTC tea across the Leaf and Dust categories.

The CTC Leaf category comprised 175 lots, covering 4,419 packages containing 1,48,531 kg of tea. Of this, 61.33 per cent was sold, at an approximate average price of Rs 206 per kg.

The CTC Dust category comprised 83 lots, covering 1,968 packages containing 74,693.5 kg. Around 63.16 per cent was sold, at an average price of about Rs 210 per kg.

The combined average price of tea sold during the inaugural auction was approximately Rs 207 per kg.

Some major buyers, including Hindustan Unilever Ltd, could not participate because of technical issues at their end, according to Assam Chai Bazaar representative Deven Singh.

The relatively close location of the new auction centre to the production belt is being seen by producers as one of its key advantages.

Veteran tea planter Mrigendra Jalan said growers, particularly small tea growers, could benefit from lower transportation costs and easier access to the auction market.

“Small tea growers will get a good price through this auction centre. We have additional expenses to send tea to Kolkata and Guwahati, but now those extra expenses will be reduced,” Jalan said.

He also said the centre could generate employment and create demand for supporting infrastructure, including warehousing.

Former Tea Board India chairman Prabhat Bezboruah and Assam Tea Planters Association chairman Samudra Prasad Barooah welcomed the establishment of the producer-led auction centre.

For Upper Assam’s tea industry, the significance of the Dibrugarh platform lies in bringing production and price discovery geographically closer.

Tea producers have historically had to factor in the cost of transporting made tea from gardens and factories to established auction centres. A local auction platform could reduce that distance and potentially improve the efficiency of the marketing chain.

However, the long-term success of the centre will depend on its ability to attract a sufficiently large and regular pool of buyers. The presence of more buyers is critical for competitive bidding across different grades and qualities of tea.

The absence of some major buyers from the inaugural auction because of technical issues also underlines the importance of building a robust and reliable digital auction system.

For Dibrugarh, therefore, Friday’s auction represents more than the opening of another trading venue. It marks the decentralisation of Assam’s tea auction network, giving Upper Assam producers a market platform closer to the region where their tea is produced.

The inaugural auction began at noon, and the bidding and sales process was completed within an hour.

The programme was attended by Tea Board India officials, former Tea Board chairman Prabhat Bezboruah, Assam Tea Planters Association chairman Samudra Prasad Barooah, veteran planter Mrigendra Jalan and Assam Chai Bazaar representatives Chand Kumar Gohain and Deven Singh.