Long-term plan, income diversification stressed to revive tea sector

Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir on Sunday said the government would take all necessary measures, including a long-term plan, to restore the economic viability of the country's tea sector.

He said the tea industry must move beyond dependence on loans and emerge as a viable sector that makes regular contributions to the national economy through revenue, taxes and VAT.

The minister made the remarks while presiding over the first meeting of the advisory committee formed for the development of Bangladesh's tea industry at the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Muktadir said the livelihoods of a large number of workers depend on the tea industry. The closure or bankruptcy of any tea garden directly affects workers' families and local communities.

"So, the sector must be made sustainable and profitable in the interests of workers' protection, environmental balance and the national economy," he said.

Referring to Bangladesh's history as a tea-exporting country, the minister said disruptions in production could again make the country dependent on imports.

He expressed the view that coordinated initiatives could help overcome the sector's challenges and restore the tea industry to a stronger position.

At the meeting, participants proposed using unused and fallow land within tea gardens, without changing their core characteristics, for solar power projects for a specified period. They also proposed agriculture, alternative afforestation and income-generating initiatives through clustering or net metering.

They stressed the need for policy approval from the Ministry of Land and other relevant authorities to implement such initiatives.

Participants also said the illegal entry of tea through border routes and direct sales outside the auction system were putting legitimate businesses at a competitive disadvantage and causing significant revenue losses to the government.

They said auctioned tea sells for Taka 290-300 per kilogram, while smuggled tea sells for Taka 200-220.

They proposed stronger monitoring to curb the practice and rationalization of VAT and advance income tax to address the situation.

The meeting also stressed that tea gardens should improve management efficiency and their own financial capacity instead of relying solely on government incentives, revolving funds or loans.

The authorities assured that garden-specific action plans would be reviewed and necessary banking and policy support would be considered based on the requirements of individual gardens.

Land Secretary A S M Saleh Ahmed, Finance Secretary Dr Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, Commerce Secretary Md Ataur Rahman Khan, Agriculture Secretary Md Selim Khan, Power Division Secretary Mirana Mahruk, Bangladesh Tea Board Chairman Major General Md Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, NBR Acting Chairman Ahsan Habib, Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Dr Md Kabir Ahmad, Bangladesh Tea Association Chairman Kamran T Rahman and Tea Traders Association President Shah Moinuddin Hasan, among others, attended the meeting.�"BSS