Overview
- NETA has conferred its Lifetime Achievement Award on Piyush Desai, the 86-year-old chairman of the Wagh Bakri Tea Group, according to officials on January 10.
- NETA’s immediate past chairman praised Desai as a tea tasting and evaluation expert who has shaped the company’s quality standards over more than six decades.
- Wagh Bakri, in the tea business since 1892, reports turnover above Rs 2,000 crore, distributes over 50 million kg of tea, and holds an estimated 9% market share as India’s third-largest packaged-tea brand.
- Desai earlier served as chairman of the Federation of All India Tea Traders Association and was the founder chairman of the Western India Tea Dealers’ Association.
- Established in 1981, NETA represents 183 member companies processing roughly 165 million kg of tea annually, with advisers highlighting Assam as the largest producer and Gujarat as the largest consumer.