A new record in production in the 184-years-old tea industry

File Photo

Last year, a total of 10 crore 29 lakh kg of tea was produced in the country, which is 9 lakh kg more than the target. Due to the increase in production, the price of tea in the auction has decreased.

A new record has been set in the production of tea in Bangladesh in the recently departed year 2023. Last year, 10 crore, 29 lakh kg of tea was produced by the hands of 168 gardens and small-scale tea farmers in the country. Last year for the first time in the history of 184 years since the first experimental tea cultivation started in Chittagong in 1840, tea production exceeded 10 crore kg.

The previous record of highest tea production was in 2021. That year, all the plantations in the country produced 9.65 million kg of tea, now the second-highest production record. Third-highest tea production record in 2019. 9 crore, 60 lakh kg of tea was produced that year.

Bangladesh Tea Board Chairman Major General Md. Ashraful Islam told Prothom Alo, 'The highest production record in the history of tea was last year. This achievement has been made possible by the team success of the tea board, plantation owners, workers, and small farmers. He further said that the demand for tea in the country is 9 crore, 20 to 30 lakh kg. Due to the increase in production, more attention should be paid to the export of tea. Last year 10 lakh 40 thousand kg of tea was exported. There is a need to improve the quality of tea to increase exports. Then the export market will also expand.

Last year tea production target was set at 10 crore 2 lakh kg by the tea board. Accordingly, 9 lakh kg more tea than the target has been produced. The production of tea has increased by about 10 percent compared to the previous year.

Record production of tea at a time when demand for tea in the country is declining. Due to increased supply in the market, the sale of tea at auction has decreased. At the same time, the average price of tea in the auction also decreased. From last April to January, 7 crores 39 lakh kg of tea was sold in 37 tea auctions in Chittagong, which is 1 percent less than the same period of the previous season. Again, the average price of tea per kg in the auction decreased by 17 taka compared to last season to 184 taka 52 paisa.

Kamran Tanvirur Rahman, Chairman of Bangladesh Tea Association, an organization of tea plantation owners, said that tea production was a record last year due to favorable weather and regular renovation activities. But not only production. As production increased, the supply of tea at the auction also increased. It is not getting the price as expected. Many tea gardens cannot survive unless they get a good price at the auction.

Kamran Tanvirur Rahman also said that there is no option but to export the surplus tea. To export tea, the quality should be increased. Although the quality of tea from Chittagong and Sylhet is good, the tea coming from small farms in the northern region is of very low quality. This substandard tea auction has a negative effect on prices in the market.

According to the rules of the tea board, the tea produced by the tea estates and small farmers has to be auctioned. Plantation owners can collect the tea themselves for packing or export by paying a maximum tax of 25 percent. At the auction, buyers bid on the quality and supply of tea.

The first tea cultivation in Bangladesh started in 1840 in the Chittagong Pioneer Garden. At present, the area around the Chittagong Club is located in that garden. The first tea was produced in that garden in 1843. It is known from a report of the Department of Agriculture in 1873 that tea was produced in this garden till the establishment of the Chittagong Club in 1875.

However, in 1854, a garden was established for tea cultivation on a commercial basis at Malanichara in Sylhet. In the Assam District Gazetteers, Sylhet, published in 1905, it is stated that the first commercial cultivation of tea began in 1857 in Malnichara, Sylhet.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), tea is produced in 47 countries in the world. According to the latest estimates by the London-based International Tea Committee, Bangladesh is now eighth in the world in tea production. A decade ago, Bangladesh was ranked 10th.