Govt to address tea tax mismanagement: Bashir

The government wants to address various types of mismanagement involving tariff and tax in the local tea sector, which accounts for annual sales of around Tk 10,000 crore, said Sk Bashir Uddin, adviser to the Ministry of Commerce, yesterday.

The sales figure is a combination of Tk 4,000 crore worth of tea leaves and the value of milk and sugar and revenue of retailers, he said.

"I did a calculation and found that 9.3 crore kilograms of tea are produced annually," he told an event organised by the Bangladesh Tea Board at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka yesterday marking the 5th National Tea Day.

"We aim to bring discipline to this sector so that it contributes to price stability in the market," said Bashir.

He also said proper utilisation of land allocated for tea cultivation was essential, and tea products need to be diversified and made more appealing to boost sales.

Bashir said the combined efforts of tea workers and owners were necessary for the sector's development.

At the event, the National Tea Award 2025 was presented in eight categories in recognition of special contributions to the country's tea industry.

Deanston Tea Garden received the award for the highest tea yield per acre, Madhupur Tea Garden for producing the highest quality tea, and The Consolidated Tea and Lands Company (Bangladesh) Limited as "Best Tea Exporter".

ABM Akhtaruzzaman from Panchagarh was recognised as the "Best Small-Scale Tea Producer", Mirzapur Tea Garden as "Best Tea Garden" for welfare of workers, and Jasmine Akhter from Neptune Tea Garden, Chattogram, as "Best Tea Leaf Picker".

Kazi & Kazi Tea Estate Ltd won two awards—for marketing diversified tea products and for attractive and high-quality tea packaging.