Bangladesh Imports Tea Despite Being an Age-Old Tea Exporting Country

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VIII, Issue V, May 2021 | ISSN 2321–2705

Bangladesh Imports Tea Despite Being an Age-Old Tea Exporting Country

Professor Mohammad Lutfar Rahman¹, Professor Dr Harwindar Singh², Dr Khairir Khalil³,
¹Author (Professor and Registrar, IUBAT—International University of Business Agriculture and Technology)
²Co-Author (Associate Professor, School of Business, Malaysia University of Science and Technology)
³Co-Author (Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Malaysia University of Science and Technology)

ABSTRACT:

Tea consumption in Bangladesh is increasing 3 percent per annum but its production is increasing 1 percent only. Due to not increasing tea production with the pace of increase in consumption, the title of Bangladesh as a tea exporting country has already been changed to a tea importing country costing at least US$ 70 million annually importing 30 million kg tea to meet the deficit every year. Country may save the hard-earned foreign exchange through increase in tea production from present 85 million kg to 120 million kg in order to stop importing tea, rather export tea utilizing every hectare garden land under tea plantation properly to increase yield per hectare from present 1500 kg to 2500 kg per hectare.

INTRODUCTION:

Bangladesh is about to embrace the fate of certain diminish of its pride as a major tea exporting country which is quite similar with the one happened to its sugar industry once. The country which once used to export 90% of its tea is likely to experience reversal of the trend. Soaring consumption at home and sluggish production have all but ended 150 years of outbound journey for the widely-consumed beverage. Bangladesh saw the tea export volume coming down to 0.5% in recent years leading to an end of the era of competition with the tea giants such as Kenya, India and Sri Lanka. In the 1990s, Bangladesh was the 5th largest exporter of tea, but a major boost in demand eliminated the surplus. The paltry amount of exports is still made for the sake of some long-trusted and entrenched customers mainly in Pakistan and the Middle East. Total domestic consumption is around 80 million kilograms against a total production of somewhat above 85 million kilograms. The domestic consumption is abruptly increasing at rate of 3% per annum against a slow-moving rate of production at 1% per annum. Incessant loss of edge in tea exports is not the only

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