Tea production in Bangladesh

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tea garden in Sreemangal

tea production, and employs more than 4 million people.[6]

The tea is grown in the northern and eastern districts, the highlands, temperate climate, humidity and heavy rainfall within these districts provide a favourable ground for the production of high quality tea.[6]

History

Sylhet is the birthplace of the Bangladesh tea industry.

Historically,

Atisa is regarded as one of the earliest Bengali drinkers of tea.[7]

Black tea cultivation was introduced in

Karnaphuli River in Chittagong in 1843.[7] Commercial cultivation of tea began in the Mulnicherra Estate in Sylhet in 1857.[citation needed] The Surma River Valley in the Sylhet region emerged as the centre of tea cultivation in Eastern Bengal. Plantations also flourished in Lower Tippera (modern Comilla) and Panchagarh
which is in North Bengal. Panchagarh is the only third tea zone in Bangladesh and the most demanded teas are cultivated here.

Tea was a major export of British Bengal. The Assam Bengal Railway served as a lifeline for the industry, transporting tea from growers in the Surma and Brahmaputra Valleys to exporters in the Port of Chittagong.[9][10]

Syed Abdul Majid was a very notable pioneer in the native tea industry.

In the early twentieth century, many local entrepreneurs also started founding their own companies such as

Nawab Ali Amjad Khan, Muhammad Bakht Majumdar, Ghulam Rabbani, Syed Ali Akbar Khandakar, Abdur Rasheed Choudhury
and Karim Bakhsh.

The Chittagong Tea Auction was established in 1949 by British and Australian traders. British companies such as James Finlay and Duncan Brothers once dominated the industry.[2] The Ispahani family also became a highly prominent player in the industry.[11]

Industry

Sylhet district

Tea is the second largest export oriented cash crop of Bangladesh, following jute. The industry accounts for 1% of national GDP.[12] Tea-producing districts include Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Sylhet, Chittagong, Panchagarh, Brahmanbaria, Rangamati, Naogaon. [13]

Once a major world exporter, Bangladesh is now a net importer of tea.

James Finlay Bangladesh, the Orion Group, the Abul Khair Group, the Meghna Group of Industries
and Duncan Brothers Bangladesh Limited.

In 2012, Bangladesh recorded its highest production of tea, at 63.85 million kilograms.[15] The country has over 56,846 hectares of land under tea cultivation, up from 28,734 hectares in 1947.[4] The government has begun to promote small-scale tea growers, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

The price of Bangladesh tea is determined at the

public auction in Chittagong. In March 2015, the international price of Bangladesh tea was US$2.40.[16]

Currently, the Moulvibazar District has the most tea plantations in the whole of the country.

Labour

More than 300,000 plantation workers are employed in Bangladeshi tea gardens. 75% of workers are women.[5] Many are descendants of tribal labourers brought from central India by the British.[17] They are among the lowest paid in the country with a daily wage of 120 taka (about $1.25).[18][19][20][21]

Government bodies

A tea garden surrounded by mountains at Sripur in Sylhet

The Bangladesh Tea Board and the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute support the production, certification and exportation of the tea trade in the country.[22] The Bangladesh Tea Research Institute began the improvement of tea quality in 1957, selecting bushes with the best yield and quality to introduce germplasm as a system of improvement.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Chen, Alice (17 September 2020). "The World's Top Tea-Producing Countries". World Atlas. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Tea Industry". Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  3. ^ চা শিল্পের ইতিহাস. teaboard.gov.bd (in Bengali). Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b Dr. Kazi Muzafar Ahammed. "Investment for Sustainable Development of Bangladesh Tea Industry – An Empirical Study" (PDF). Bangladesh Economic Association. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Tea Gardens in Bangladesh". bangladesh.com. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  6. ^ a b Mansur, Muhammed Alee (September 2006). "Bangladeshi Tea in the International Market" - Problems and Prospects (MBA). Southern University. Retrieved 24 March 2015 – via Scribd.
  7. ^ a b c "Saving the Slips Between Cup and Lips". Firstnewsmagazine.com. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  8. ISBN 978-0-313-32487-1
    .
  9. ISBN 978-93-80607-16-0
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1-4411-0673-5
    .
  11. ^ "Ispahani Family". Banglapedia.
  12. ^ "Tea @ Global Trade Concern – Bangladesh". Tea.globaltradeconcern.com. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Bangladesh Tea Board". Teaboard.gov.bd. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Growth of imports shake tea gardens of northern Bangladesh". The Daily Star. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Bangladesh records highest tea production in 2012". The Daily Star. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  16. ^ "Bangladesh tea prices edge up on strong demand". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  17. ^ "As tea estates expand in Bangladesh, tribes fear for their future". Union of Catholic Asian News. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  18. ^ "Why are Bangladesh tea garden workers protesting?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  19. ^ "Shocked by tea workers' wages? Everyone else is not doing any better". The Business Standard. Dhaka. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Not a humane life: Tea workers want end to oppression, reject Tk20 wage hike". The Business Standard. Dhaka. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  21. ^ "150,000 Bangladeshi tea workers strike against dollar-a-day wages". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Bangladesh Tea Research Institute". Banglapedia.
  23. ^ Chen, Liang; Apostolides, Zeno; Chen, Zong-Mao (2012). Global Tea Breeding: Achievements, Challenges and Perspectives. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. p. 290.
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