AGARTALA, June 2 (TIWN): In last fiscal year (2013 -14), Tripura has produced around 1.5 lakh kg of green tea, said S. Das additional director of industries on Monday. Fatrik tea estate at Unakoti district and Golakpur tea estate at North Tripura only manufacture the orthodox tea said the official adding the green tea of Tripura garden is of great demand in Middle East and Europe, major share is exported to those countries.

Seeing the increasing demand of green tea, former industries minister now MP, Jiten Chaudhury in 2009 laid the foundation stone of a modern tea processing factory in the Ludhua tea estate in South Tripura The state’s Industries department has sanctioned Rs 60 lakh as loan for setting up the factory and rest of the amount would be taken as loan from banks. The Ludhua Cooperative Tea garden has set a target of producing 1 lakh kg of green tea per year after its tea processing factory becomes operational. But after five years, the ambitious factory yet be operational till date.   

Tea plantation in Tripura started way back in 1920. The state now has 68 tea gardens where 7.75 million kg of tea is grown every year over 13,372 hectares, official sources said. Among them 13 are run by different cooperatives, 20 are under Tripura Tea Corporation and the rest 35 gardens are under private ownership.

A new study has revealed how green tea and its extracts might be able to help fight the cancer risks as well as some other diseases. The study has found that EGCG, the active biologic constituent in green tea, changed the metabolism of pancreatic cancer cells by suppressing the expression of an enzyme associated with cancer, LDHA.Researchers also found that an enzyme inhibitor, oxamate, which is known to reduce LDHA activity, also disrupted the pancreatic cancer cells metabolic system.