Govt to recognise tea industry entities, individuals

The government, for the first time, will recognise one individual and seven organisations for their contribution to Bangladesh's tea industry, said the commerce ministry yesterday.

The awards include tea garden with the highest yield, garden producing the "best quality" of tea, entity making the highest amount of export, "best" small-scale tea producer and best tea garden based on worker welfare.

Awards will also be presented to the "best" company based on market diversification and on marketing and packaging, according to a press release.

Another award will be given to the "best" worker engaged in plucking tea. The details of this criteria are yet to be made public. There are an estimated 1,50,000 workers in the country's tea estates.

The commerce ministry and Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) will jointly present the award.

"We have taken the decision to expedite the advancement of tea industry and encourage people engaged in the sector," said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi at a meeting ahead of National Tea Day to be observed on June 4.

The decision comes at a time when tea production and consumption are growing in the country.

Bangladesh is currently listed as the world's ninth largest tea producer, accounting for around 2 per cent of the world's total production.

The country produced 100 million kilogrammes of tea in 2022, which was 28 per cent higher year-on-year, according to Bangladesh Tea Board.

Until March this year, tea production rose 16 per cent year-on-year to 2.4 million kgs.

In 2022, 0.78 million kg of tea were exported, worth around Tk 196.31 million.

There are 167 tea gardens in the country, located in the northeast division Sylhet, Chattogram and northwest bordering district Panchagarh, covering almost 280,000 acres of land.

A total of 90 of the tea gardens are in Moulvibazar, which accounts for 55 per cent of the tea produced in the country. Habiganj is the second largest producer of tea, contributing 22 per cent.