Play store
They said the illegal trade was also causing the government to lose significant revenue.
The speakers called for stronger monitoring to curb tea smuggling and proposed rationalising VAT and advance income tax to help address the challenges facing the legal tea trade.
The remarks came at the first meeting of the advisory committee formed to develop Bangladesh’s tea industry, held at the conference room of the Commerce Ministry at the Secretariat.
Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, who chaired the meeting, said the government would take all necessary measures, alongside long-term planning, to restore the economic strength of the country’s tea industry.
He said the tea sector should not remain dependent on loans but should be transformed into a viable industry that makes regular contributions to the national economy through revenue, taxes and VAT.
The minister said the livelihoods of a large number of workers depend on the tea industry, and the closure or bankruptcy of any tea garden directly affects workers’ families and local communities.
He stressed the need to make the sector sustainable and profitable in the interests of workers’ protection, environmental balance and the national economy.
Noting that Bangladesh once exported tea, Muktadir said the country could become dependent on imports again if production is disrupted. He said the crisis in the industry could be overcome and the sector restored to a stronger position through concerted efforts.
The meeting also proposed using unused and fallow land in tea gardens, while preserving their core characteristics, for solar power projects for fixed periods, agriculture and alternative forestry.
Participants also suggested creating new income sources through cluster-based projects or net metering. They said policy approval from the Ministry of Land and other relevant authorities would be required to implement such initiatives.
The meeting stressed that tea gardens should improve management efficiency and their own financial capacity rather than relying solely on government incentives, revolving funds or loans.
The government assured the meeting that necessary banking and policy support would be considered after reviewing specific action plans prepared for individual tea gardens.
Land Secretary ASM Saleh Ahmed, Finance Secretary Dr Md Khairuzzaman Majumder, Commerce Secretary Md Ataur Rahman Khan, Agriculture Secretary Md Selim Khan, Power Division Secretary Mirana Mehrukh, Bangladesh Tea Board Chairman Major General Md Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, NBR Chairman Ahsan Habib, Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Dr Md Kabir Ahmad, Bangladesh Tea Association Chairman Kamran T Rahman and Tea Traders Association President Shah Mainuddin Hasan, among others, attended the meeting.