Nat’l tea company rebounds auction sales

Moulvibazar Correspondent :

Despite the most difficult obstacles of the times, crises, adversities, natural disasters, and worker discontent the workers and owners fought hand in hand to improve the quality of tea, and a record amount of tea was sold at this year’s auction market, despite earlier losses.
Tea is now being produced in 13 tea gardens run by the state-owned National Tea Company (NTC), including Madhabpur, Madanmohanpur, Patrakhola, Kurma, and Champara in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar.
The quality has increased significantly. This positive change has been directly reflected in the Chattogram tea auction market. NTC has created a new record for the highest sales in two consecutive auctions in the company’s hundred-year history.
This year’s auction market is being considered a major success in the overall development and management reforms of NTC. In the 30th auction of the Chattogram auction market, tea produced by NTC’s gardens was sold for about Tk 4 crore. In the next auction, number 31, this amount increased to about Tk 6 crore. With tea worth around Tk 10 crore sold in just two auctions, the government-owned National Tea Company has regained vitality as its tea gardens have returned to a profitable position after years of losses.
This has sparked new hope for the state-owned tea sector, which has long been lagging behind.
Those concerned say this success has come from a combination of increased productivity, quality control, and modern management. A special action plan was adopted for the 2024-25 financial year to ensure quality in NTC’s government-run gardens. The use of organic fertiliser has been increased across all 13 gardens, including Madhabpur, Madanmohanpur, Patrakhola, Kurma, Champara, Bijoya, Premnagar, Lakkartura, Teliapara, Jagadishpur, Ch-i, and Parkul in Kamalganj upazila. In addition, due to the modernisation of irrigation management, production has not been disrupted even during droughts or adverse weather.
Major changes have also been made in the training of tea workers. According to garden sources, workers strictly followed the ‘two buds and one leaf’ principle when plucking leaves. This greatly improved the quality of raw leaf collection and resulted in visible improvement in the colour, flavour, and density of processed tea. As a result, buyers’ interest in NTC tea has increased significantly in the auction market.
Dipan Sinha, General Manager of Madhabpur Tea Garden in Kamalganj upazila, said that they were able to maintain quality production this time due to guidance from senior NTC officials, regular monitoring, and coordinated efforts at the field level. “The sincerity and hard work of the workers, employees, and officers are the main driving forces behind this success. If the market remains favourable, the gardens of the National Tea Company will be able to play an important role in earning foreign exchange by exporting quality tea abroad. We are moving towards that goal,” he said.
He added that Managing Director HSM Ziaul Ahsan has been working tirelessly to increase productivity, ensure quality control, and modernise the National Tea Company since taking office on 2 February. Visible improvements have been made in the colour, taste, and density of the tea as a result of these reforms.
NTC Deputy General Manager (DGM) Rafiqul Islam said that the National Tea Company has made significant progress in recent years. The company had faced a financial crisis, and in 2023, it was downgraded to the ‘Z’ category on the Dhaka and Chattogram Stock Exchanges. Therefore, under the directives of Managing Director HSM Ziaul Ahsan, the management staff and tea workers in each tea garden have been paying close attention to production. The company is focusing on reducing production costs, exploring new markets, and improving product quality. Steps are being taken to modernise all 13 gardens and develop the skills of workers.