Sylhet Bureau :
With the aim of expanding tea trade and strengthening cooperation between Bangladesh and China, the country’s various tea garden owners, entrepreneurs and exporters have participated in the ‘Tea Exhibition 2025’ for the first time in Sylhet. The exhibition was organized by the Chinese Corner under the Department of Political Studies of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Sylhet, the Department of Food Engineering and Tea Technology, and the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka. A 7-member delegation from China is participating in this tea exhibition.
The exhibition was held at the new Social Sciences Building of the university from 10 am on Tuesday (May 20).
Vice-Chancellor of SUST Professor Dr. A. M. Sarwaruddin Chowdhury attend the Programme as a chief guest.
As the chief guest, Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. A. M. Sarwaruddin Chowdhury said that new horizons are opening between China and Bangladesh through the tea exchange network. Research through technology here will further advance the tea industry of Bangladesh. The use of artificial intelligence will help in more new innovations here. I hope the Chinese government will also share their new ideas of tea industry in Bangladesh and will be by their side in helping to innovate new variants.
Under the chairmanship of
Professor Dr. Md. Sahabul Haque, Coordinator of the Chinese Corner under the Political Studies Department of SUST presided over the programme.
Li Shaoping, Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, spoke as the guest of honor.
At the event, Li Shaoping said, ‘Tea is a traditional product in Bangladesh. The opportunities for research and innovation in this sector between the two countries are endless. Such initiatives pave the way.’
Professor of SUST Dr. Ismail Hossain, Treasurer of Sylhet Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Maulana Khairul Hossain, and Tahsin Ahmed Chowdhury, Executive Committee Member of Bangladesh Tea Association of Srimangal. Yang Hui, Director of the Confucius Institute at Dhaka University attend the programme as Special guest.
spoke on the history and tradition of Chinese tea, Zhong Qian’an, Chinese teacher, and Li Yangxi, Confucius Institute teacher at North South University, spoke on the tea industry.
Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed, Professor of the Food Engineering and Tea Technology Department of Shabiprobi, and Salauddin Bablu, Director of Karmasangan Bank, spoke on the tea industry in Bangladesh.
Dr. Syed Ashrafur Rahman, Head of the Political Studies Department of Shabiprobi, and Dr. Wahiduzzaman, Professor of the Food Engineering and Tea Technology Department, delivered the welcome address at the seminar. Dr. Dilara Rahman, Professor of the Political Studies Department of Shabiprobi, delivered the vote of thanks to everyone at the event. Also present at the event were Dr. Zayeda Sharmin, Assistant Professor, and Dr. Emdadul Haque, teachers, students, officials from various departments, people involved in tea production and sale, tea workers, etc.
At this time, the speakers said that 6.8 million metric tons of tea are produced in the world every year. Of this, 3.2 million are produced in China and 100,000 tons in Bangladesh. China currently extracts tea with the help of technology. Bangladesh, being a developing country, is in the experimental stage. As part of the academic, research and commercial discussions between China and Bangladesh, this tea summit and exhibition will open a new era in the relations between the two countries.
The exhibition, which was organized from 10 am to 3:30 pm, was attended by 16 domestic tea gardens and import-export companies including SS Black Tea (2), The Consolidated Tea (Finley), Fiazi Tea, Garden Fresh Tea, Magla Tea, M Ahmed Tea (2), Eco Dye, Malnichara, Lusso Bella, Padma Tea, Maxon Brothers, National Tea Sango, Muna Traders, Talukder Tea, 3 Chinese companies and the Department of Food Engineering and Tea Technology.
The event featured cultural programms performed by the Chinese delegation and the tea garden community of Sylhet, Chinese language drawing and calligraphy exhibition, tea making system in China’s own process, etc. After the inauguration ceremony, a procession was taken out on the campus with invited guests, teachers, students and participants in the exhibition. In addition, a special publication containing 8 articles by university teachers, journalists and tea researchers was released on the occasion of the exhibition.
It is worth noting that this tea exhibition has been organized for the first time in Sylhet. In addition to the participation of tea garden owners, entrepreneurs and exporters, the ongoing strategies, problems and prospects for expanding tea trade between Bangladesh and China on global tea trade issues were discussed.
