While Assam produces maximum tea in the country, Gujarat consumes the most. In the annual general meeting of Ahmedabad Tea Merchants Association, it was announced that Gujarat consumes around 75 million kg of tea every year. With a population of around 6 crore, the state's per capita tea consumption stands around 1.25 kg per annum.
"In the past few years, along with state's population, even tea consumption has gone up. We estimated that in 2008-09, with a population of around 5 crore, Gujarat consumed around 60 million kg. Now, at present, with a population of around 6 crore, it is estimated the state annually consumes around 75 million kg tea," said HP Agarwal, president, Ahmedabad Tea Merchants Association.
The per capita consumption has remained almost the same.
"Compared to national per capita consumption, Gujarat's consumption is much higher. The per capita consumption of tea in country is around 670 gram per year as against 1.25 kg per year in Gujarat. This testifies that Gujarat drinks a lot of tea," said Agarwal.
Interestingly, the per capita tea consumption is highest in Jammu & Kashmir. "The population of J&K is very less but still the consumption of tea is very high because of its culture and weather," said Ashok Relia, member of the association and tea commission agent.
In the association's AGM, members raised concerns about the new Food Safety Act imposed by union government. "Couple of months back, a tea trader in a small town near Surat was put behind bars. He mentioned the ingredients of tea only in Gujarati and failed to mention it in either English or Hindi. So, we've called a small meeting along with AGM to discuss and spread awareness of the new Food Safety Act implemented by central government," said Relia.
