<h1>Small tea growers seek fair price discovery mechanism from government amid poor profit margins</h1> Small tea growers, contributing over 50% of national tea production, have requested the central government establish a fair price discovery mechanism. The growers' association wrote to the commerce minister proposing a price protection scheme similar to minimum support price systems. They suggested the Tea Board study equitable price-sharing ratios between growers and factories. Currently facing poor price realization with green leaf prices at Rs 22-25 per kg against production costs of Rs 17-20 per kg, growers earn only Rs 5 per kg margin. The association advocates adopting a model where surplus earnings are shared equally between factories and growers, allowing direct sales to eliminate agent fees.