e-Auction of Tea

Public tea auctions have always played a key role as the main vehicle for primary marketing of tea in India for over a century ever since the first tea auction centre was set up in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1861. Public tea auctions handle more than 500 million kilograms annually.

e-Auction system

The newly designed e-Auction system is being used by all the seven Auction Centres (Kolkata, Siliguri, Guwahati, Jalpaiguri, Cochin, Coimbatore and Coonoor). The various users of the system like Manufacturers, Warehouses, Auctioneers and Buyers have been provided with access to various functionalities of the system. Each Auction Centre will be entitled to carry out functions like registration, incorporation of changes in policy and information maintenance.

The e-Auction system integrates the process starting from creation of invoices till the delivery of tea from the warehouses, enabling better control and avoiding duplication of work thus reducing time.

Live e-auction (parallel with physical auctions) started on April 8, 2009. Coonoor was the first place in the world to switch over to the E-auction system.

The auctioning of tea in India is being supervised by the Tea-Board of India.

Benefits of e-Auction

The adoption of the e-Auction system has led to greater transparency and better price realization for all concerned especially the tea growers. The system has brought cheer to the small tea growers.

Source : Website of Tea e-Auction