Discuss the role of commodity boards in export promotion and the challenges facing the plantation sector.

Commodity boards such as the Tea, Coffee, Rubber and Spices Boards are statutory bodies under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; the Tea Board, set up under Section 4 of the Tea Act, 1953, is empowered to control cultivation and export and to fund promotion of Indian tea at home and abroad [1]. They are thus the State's chief instrument for linking plantation growers to world markets.

Role in export promotion

• Market development and branding: the Tea Development and Promotion Scheme, with outlays raised sharply to ₹528.97 crore for 2024-25 and 2025-26, funds promotion, quality upgradation and research on blends and value-added products [2].
• Market intelligence and access: boards track logistics constraints, residue limits and non-tariff barriers, helping exporters diversify into China, North Africa, Canada and Egypt to cushion West Asian disruption [3]. Tea export earnings rose from about USD 751 million in 2021-22 to USD 924 million in 2024-25 [3].
• Crisis response: when the war involving Iran hit shipments, the Ministry and Board steered exporters to alternatives such as Oman [4] — where the India–Oman CEPA, in force since 1 June 2026 with zero-duty access on 98.08% of tariff lines, widens the opening [5].
• Regulation and grower support: licensing, auctions, GI promotion (Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri) and welfare measures for the 2.30 lakh small growers who now supply about 52% of tea output [2].

Challenges facing the plantation sector

• Geographic concentration of exports in West Asia, making volumes hostage to conflict, sanctions and payment channels [4][3].
• Low value addition: bulk, unbranded shipments mean record volumes do not become record earnings [3].
• Price distress for small growers, worsened by cheap blended imports; the CAG's performance audit on the Tea Board's role in tea development (2023) examined precisely such delivery gaps [6].
• Ageing bushes, rising costs, climate stress and labour welfare obligations under the Plantation Labour Act, 1951.

Commodity boards remain indispensable, but their mandate must shift from moving tonnage to building value and resilience. Diversification across different risk regions, CEPA-linked market entry, GI-based branding and a fair price mechanism for green leaf together offer a durable path — aligning export competitiveness with SDG-8's promise of decent work and inclusive growth.