Northern districts produce record 15 million kgs of processed tea

The tea-producing five northern districts produced an all-time record 14.54 million kgs of processed tea last year, keeping the regional agro-economy vibrant despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Officials of the Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) said the last year’s production of 14.54 million kgs of processed tea is higher by about 4.24 million kgs against the production of 10.30 million kgs of the previous 2020 year.

Senior Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) at its Panchagarh Regional Office Dr. Mohammad Shameem Al Mamun, said tea cultivation on plain lands is rapidly expanding in the ‘Kartoa Valley’ ecological zone comprising five northern districts.

“Being directed by the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her visit to Panchagarh in 1996, the then Deputy Commissioner Rabiul Islam planted tea saplings on Panchagarh Circuit House premises on an experimental basis,” he said.

Getting better results, a BTB team conducted a feasibility study in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts in 1999 and found 16,000 hectares of land suitable for commercial basis tea cultivation.

“Tentulia Tea Company Limited (TTCL) first started commercial basis tea cultivation on plain lands in Tentulia upazila there in 2000,” Dr. Shameem told BSS.

Later, other companies and local farmers started commercial-basis tea farming in 2005, ushering in new hope in the agro-economy alongside creating huge jobs for farm-labourers.

Owners of nine registered and 21 unregistered tea gardens and 8,067 small holders cultivated tea on 11,434 acres of lands in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat and produced about 73.57 million kgs of green tea leaves in 2021.

“The 11,434 acres land area brought under tea farming in 2021 is higher by 1,264 acres against 10,170 acres of land in 2020 in the valley,” Dr. Shameem said.

The 22 companies operating in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon and Lalmonirhat processed the green tea leaves producing 14.54 million kgs of processed tea which is 15 per cent against the total national production of 96.506 million kgs in the country in 2021.

“In 2020, tea processing companies processed 51.28 million kgs of green tea leaves and produced 10.30 million kgs of processed tea which was 11.92 per cent against the total national production of 86.39 million kgs,” he said.

Tea grower Shahinur Rahman of village Buraburi in Tentulia upazila of Panchagarh said that he started `small-scale gardening-basis tea cultivation on his plain land in 2016.

President of Bangladesh Small Tea Garden Owners’ Association Amirul Haque Khokan said small-scale gardening-basis tea farming on plain lands had changed the fortune of many people in five northern districts.

“Over 30,000 unemployed people, including 17,000 women, are earning well from farm activities and plucking tea leaves to lead a better life even during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Haque said.