First nat’l tea day on Jun 4
Bangladesh will observe National Tea Day on June 4 for the first time in its 50-year history.
This decision was taken at a cabinet meeting on July 20 to commemorate the outstanding contribution of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to the tea industry on his birth centenary, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi.
On this day, Bangabandhu became the first Bengali chairman of the Tea Board, serving from June 4, 1957, to October 23, 1958.
"So, the first National Tea Day is being celebrated on June 4," he said while addressing a virtual press briefing on the 'First National Tea Day-2021' from his office at the Secretariat.
The minister went on to say that National Tea Day would be inaugurated at 10:00am at Osmani Memorial Auditorium and a discussion meeting would be held there.
On the day, there will be a daylong tea exhibition from different organisations and rare items of the tea industry preserved in Bangabandhu Pavilion and Tea Museum at Srimangal will also be displayed.
Through observing the day, the role of the tea industry in the country's overall economic development will also be recognised.
Local tea was once exported but this is not possible now as the domestic demand has increased alongside production.
Now, the people living in villages have also grown accustomed to drinking tea, increasing its use manifold, Munshi added.
Only 31.38 million kilogrammes (kg) of tea was produced in 1970 while the country produced a record 96.07 million kgs in 2019 and 86.39 million kgs in 2020.
Last year, 2.19 million kgs of tea was exported to 19 countries, from which the country earned about Tk 35 crore.
Munshi said tea production on flat lands in Panchagarh started in 1996 under the direction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Tea production is increasing day by day as the government is providing all necessary support to encourage production and necessary assistance is also being provided to the tea workers.
There is a huge demand for Bangladeshi tea in the international market and it is possible to export tea after meeting domestic demand, he added.
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