NAY PYI TAW April 8
A ceremony to commission into service a dried tea and dried fruit factory (Naungtaya) was held at the factory in Naungtaya town, Shan State (South) this morning attended by Vice Chairman of State Administration Council Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Commander-in-Chief (Army) Vice-Senior General Soe Win.
On arrival at the factory, the Vice-Senior General and party were warmly welcomed by local ethnic races.
Present at the ceremony together with the Vice-Senior General were Chief Minister of Shan State Dr Kyaw Tun, Chairman of Myanmar EconomicCorporation Lt-Gen Nyo Saw, Lt-Gen Aung Zaw Aye of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army), senior military officers of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army, Navy and Air), the commander of Eastern Command, deputy ministers, the chairman of Pa-O Self-AdministeredZone Administrative Body, officials, invited guests and local national races.
First, the chief minister, the MEC chairman, Eastern Command Commander Maj-Gen Ni Lin Aung, Chairman of Pa-O Self-Administered Zone Administrative Body U Khun Ye Htwe formally opened the factory.
The Vice-Senior General then unveiled the signboard of the factory. The Vice-Senior General and party put fresh tea leaves in the belt conveyor to start the operations of the factory. The Vice-Senior General and those present posed for documentary photo in front of the factory archway.Then, they looked around the factory together with the officials. The Vice-Senior General presented honorary cash awards for the factory staff.
A Documentary Video Clip of the factory was shown at the briefing hall. Managing Director of MEC U Kyaw Lin explained points of the factory.
In his address, the Vice-Senior General said the factory was commissioned into service in accord with the guidance of Chairman of State Administration Council Prime Minister Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in December 2019 for socio-economic progress of the locals. Pa-O people can be proud of the factory opening day. Tea growing started in the region about 200 years ago not as a staple crop but as a supplementary crop. Tea leaf picking and price fixing depended on the demand. Per acre yield of the nearly 4,526 acres of tea grown in the eight villagetracts in the surrounding areas of Naungtaya is about 600 viss.
The Naungtaya region produces about 2.7 million viss of tea leaves per year. Pinlaung region produces about 6,610,200 viss of tea leaves per year. So, the whole area produces 9,325,800 viss (15,228 tons) of tea leaves annually.
Mango, dragon fruit, orange,avocado, pineapple and banana are produced in the region and supplied to the markets in Pinlaung, Aungban and Taunggyi, mainly to Pinlaung market. Tea leaf could be harvested and sold as much as it is produced in the areas of Naungtaya and Pinlaung because Naungtaya Tea and Dried Fruit Factory has been established to manufacture value-added tea. Thiswill be helpful in ensuring the improvement of socio-economic life of local tea farmers and making more income for them through broader production and delivery of dried fruits to markets. Of the two modern methods of manufacturing tea, Orthodox and CTC (Crush,Tear, Curl), Naungtaya Tea and Dried Fruit Factory is installed with CTC helpful to commercial production of quality tea with less waste. The factory’s CTC machines are capable of producing 1.1 ton of tea a day from milling five tons of raw material for eight hours. Building the factory in the town of Naungtaya is aimed to export dried fruits manufactured from the fresh fruits produced in southern Shan State and deliver them to local markets as well. Although cultivated areas in Pinlaung and Naungtaya are larger than those in Ywangan and Pindaya, there are less benefits from the cultivated areas in Pinlaung and Naungtaya. Therefore, there has been a situation that some farmers will leave such businesses. As the factory will be buying local fruits regularly, which means that local farmers will be able to enjoy regular income to enable them to keep running their business.
With the emergence of a firm market for locally produced tea and fruits, agricultural business in the region will thrive. It will lead to extending tea cultivation as a substitute crop, creating more jobs and enhancing the status of socio-economic life of local farmers. Such benefits will also help ensure prosperity of the State, rich foods and local development. Therefore, Naungtaya Tea and Dried Fruit Factory has been built with a large investment.
The newly opened factory will stand and exist proudly for Pa-O Self-Administered Zone including the town of Naungtaya as the first and foremost public factory in the region. As the factory will create opportunities of making money for local people in accordance with the guidance of the Prime Minister of the State, all are urged to make collective efforts to maintain the factory helpful to local development for its long-term existence.
Afterwards, a local resident expressed words of thanks for the establishment of the factory.
Chairman of MEC Lt-Gen Nyo Saw presented the badge in commemoration of opening the factory to the Vice-Senior General.
Later, the Vice-Senior General presented a gift of a fruit basket to foreign experts who helped build the factory.
The Naungtaya Tea and Dried Fruit Factory is capable of manufacturing 1,136 kilograms of tea a day, about 488,000 kilograms (538 tons) a year.