Tripura is a traditional tea-growing State with history of tea plantations dating back to 1916. Presently, there are 54 Tea Estates and 4,346 small tea growers, producing over 10.19 million kg. of tea every year. This makes Tripura the 5th largest State among the 16 tea producing States, after Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu & Kerala. Some Tea Estates also produce Green Tea (Golakpur and Fatikcherra). Tea produced in Tripura mostly sells in Guwahati/ Kolkata Auction, although some portion of production is also sold locally or through marketing channels in Northern and Western India. Tea produced in Tripura is also being exported. Average Sale price realised by Tripura Tea in auction market is about Rs.117/- per kg.
District-wise Area under Tea, 2014-15 and 2015-16:
| Sl. No. | District | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
| 1 | Dhalai | 335 | 325 |
| 2 | Gomati | 1140 | 1140 |
| 3 | Khowai | 1562 | 1195 |
| 4 | North Tripura | 400 | 310 |
| 5 | Sepahijala | 449 | 449 |
| 6 | South Tripura | 1440 | 1399 |
| 7 | Unakoti | 689 | 550 |
| 8 | West Tripura | 2565 | 2381 |
| Tripura | 8580 | 7749 | |
Source : Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India
Production of Green Leaves and Made Tea for the year 2017-18:
| Particulars | Kamalasagar TE | Brahmakunda TE | Machmara TE | CTPF | Total |
| Production of green leaves (Kg in lakh) | 5.32 | 5.43 | 4.64 | 15.39 | |
| Production of Made Tea (Kg in lakh) | 1.72 | 1.72 |
CTPF: Central Tea Processing Factory
TE: Tea Estate
Source: Economic Review of Tripura 2017-18
Functional status of TTDC, 2011-12 to 2015-16:
| Sl. No. | Performance Indicators | Unit | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 (up to Sep'16) |
| 1 | Green Leaves Production | Lakh Kg. | 16.84 | 17.08 | 18.63 | 17.77 | 17.98 | 10.90 |
| 2 | Production of Made Tea | Lakh Kg. | 4.80 | 4.42 | 3.70 | 3.89 | 3.89 | 1.41 |
| 3 | Turnover | Rs. lakhs | 459.24 | 525.30 | 349.93 | 451.75 | 480.98 | 181.64 |
| 4 | Average Sales Realisation (Made Tea) | Rs./ kg. | 78.00 | 98.94 | 82.50 | 101.38 | 105.25 | 124.40 |
| 5 | Packaged tea/ Local sale | Kg. | 20275 | 67500 | 14,500 | 135000 | 145750 | 65099 |
| 6 | Gross margin | Rs.lakhs | (+)61.56 | (+)96.16 | (-)45.97 | (-)36.25 | (+)20.63 | (+)20.78 |
| 7 | Salaries | Rs.lakhs | 108.53 | 129.13 | 149.35 | 168.46 | 189.90 | 77.15 |
| 8 | Share capital State Govt. | Rs.lakhs | 229.10 | 200.00 | 258.00 | 280.00 | 300.00 | 140.00 |
Some other important aspect of TTDC functioning are as follows:
- The Corporation needs to improve the functioning of CTPF.
- TTDC needs to make efforts to increase the area under tea plantations.
- TTDC needs to make efforts to increase production of packaged tea. This will give TTDC better sales realisation of made tea.
Performance vis-a-via MoU target:
| Sl. No. | Performance indicator | Unit | 2015-2016 (Actual) | 2016-2017 (MoU target) | 2016-2017 (up to Sept.'16) |
| A | TURNOVER: | ||||
| 1 | Brick activity | Rs. lakh | 349.71 | 375.00 | 173.55 |
| 2 | Trading activity | Rs. lakh | 963.77 | 820.00 | 424.54 |
| 3 | Other activity | Rs. lakh | 31.39 | 30.00 | 03.50 |
| Total (A) | Rs. lakh | 1344.87 | 1225.00 | 601.59 | |
| B | OTHER PARAMETERS: | ||||
| 4 | Gross margin (Rs.) | Rs. lakh | 107.59 | 98.00 | 48.13 |
| 5 | Salaries & wages | Rs. lakh | 532.23 | 545.00 | 251.41 |
| 6 | Other overheads (incld. group gratuity & leave encashment premium) | Rs. lakh | 145.00 | 150.00 | 111.16 |
| C | Total (B) (5+6) | 677.23 | 695.00 | 362.57 | |
| Share capital from State Government | Rs. lakh | 350.00 | - | 220.00 | |
Source: Economic Review of Tripura 2015-16