After the serious setback caused by floods and inclement weather during June-August, tea gardens enjoyed an even rainfall in September, which helped the highly sensitive crop to recoup the damage.

But absence of rain in the crucial months of October and November caused a serious blow to the commercial crop, they said.

There is no scope to reach the target, according to AFM Badrul Alam, Director of Bangladesh Tea Research Institute (BTRI).

The drought like situation has retarded the growth in gardens he said.

This year, the production may be about 56 million kilograms against the target of 57.5 million kilograms. Last year, 56.7 million kilograms were produced, he added.

"By now it is clear that there is no scope to recoup the huge damage caused by the floods as the sensitive crop depends on nature's behaviour, Alam said.

Same was the view of AKM Doulatul Islam, Manager of Malnichhera Tea Estate in Sylhet, one of the oldest tea gardens in the country. He said, the weather behaved "totally erratic" in last two months compared to the situation in the previous year, he told this correspondent yesterday.

Normally, November sees light rains almost every year, which is very much beneficial for the crop.

This year, tea production may fall short of the target by at least 10 per cent, he added.

The June-August floods had caused a large-scale damage to the industry for the first time in many years. Waters rolling down the natural canals through the gardens in the region due to excessive and continued rains damaged the crop heavily. The waters swamped plantations and nursery areas in many tea gardens while many roads, labour colonies, small culverts and bridges were also badly damaged.

A record rainfall in July and August this year coupled with insufficient sunshine was harmful for tea plants.

The period from May to August is considered very important for tea industry. It plays a vital role in tea production.

Besides, there were incidents of landslides in many gardens this year. The infrastructure damage in the affected tea garden areas due to floods was estimated at over Tk10 crore, said an official source.

Over 50 tea gardens in Monu-Dholoi, Lashkarpur, and Balisera tea valleys were badly affected by the sudden floods. Several hillocks had also collapsed.

The country's tea production was a little better last year compared to previous years due to a favourable weather and a "reasonable amount of rainfall" in the main tea-producing region.

Tea is the largest agro-based industry in the country. There are 160 tea estates producing around 55 million kilograms of 'made tea'. Roughly two thirds of this is consumed at home, while the rest is exported.

Bangladesh earns about Tk 1500 million in foreign exchange annually by exporting tea.

The sector contributes to 0.81 per cent of the GDP and employs about 0.15 million people, which is about 3.3 percent of the country's total industrial employment.