Moulvibazar tea industry in trouble

The tea industry in Moulvibazar is facing challenges as constant load shedding disrupts tea production in the district.

Those involved in the tea industry are also concerned about the drop in the quality of their product as it might negatively impact exports.

A load shedding system has been introduced in the country recently to lessen electricity consumption and save energy. The load shedding lasts one-five hours on a regular basis in Moulvibazar.

Experts are concerned about reaching the production target of 100 billion kg of tea this year as the production process is being affected due to constant load shedding.

The season of tea production is from July to October. During these months, the factories receive 5,000-70,000 kg of tea leaves regularly from the gardens for processing.

But due to power outages, the factory owners are worried about the quality and quantity of the processed leaves.

The rising price along with a crisis of fuel has made it hard for the factory owners to keep production running with the help of generators.

Due to a lack of uninterrupted power supply, the quality of the processed leaves might drop.

According to the factory owners, the product might get returned if improperly processed tea leaves are exported.

Md Akter Shahid, manager of National Tea Company’s Kurma tea garden, said, “The leaves deteriorate in quality if the factory does not run continuously and we are getting hardly two hours of uninterrupted electricity.”

Mohammad Rashedul Islam, manager of Shahbazpur tea garden in Barlekha upazila, said the production cost has increased. “Diesel is Tk 85 per litre but there is not enough supply as per the demand. We are facing serious challenges in the current situation,” he said.

Selim Reza, manager of Ispahani Zerin tea garden, said they process about 4,000 kg of tea leaves every day.

“We have been running the factory with gas-powered generators due to load shedding. This has increased our production cost,” he added.

Chairman of Bangladesh Tea Association’s Sylhet branch GM Shiblee said tea production is being disrupted all over Sylhet.

He also said that all the machines involved in the tea production process are often not run with the help of generators. Using generators also increases production costs.

“But if the quality goes down due to this, then the price of tea will also go down,” he said.

Md Shahjalal, marketing officer of Meghna Group of Industries -- one of the major tea exporting companies -- said if the quality of tea is bad, it will have a negative impact on the export market.

“Any tea of ​​poor quality cannot be sold in the international market. The country’s tea industry will be severely affected,” he added.

Sakhawat Hossain, general manager of Moulvibazar Palli Biddut Somitee, said the demand for electricity is 90 MW during peak hours and the supply is 60 MW. In off-peak hours, demand is 55 MW and supply is 40 MW.

“We cannot supply uninterrupted power to the factories until the global fuel crisis is over,” he added.

According to Bangladesh Tea Board sources, the total production target of tea in the country this year is 100 billion kg.

Most of the country’s tea is produced in the Moulvibazar district. Out of the total 163 tea gardens across the country, there are 92 in the Moulvibazar district alone.

But due to load shedding and an increase in fuel oil prices, experts involved in the tea industry have expressed apprehension about achieving this target.