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Monday | September 21, 2026 | Dhaka
To Revive Tea sector

Long-term plan, income diversification

 Business Report
 Published: 12:02 AM, 21 September 2026
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke calls on Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury at the latter's office in the capital on Sunday to discuss further strengthening the UK-Bangladesh economic partnership, including continued support to economic reforms, to leveraging climate funding and to the creative economy.

The government will implement all necessary measures, including a comprehensive long-term roadmap, to restore the financial health of the country’s tea industry, Commerce Minister Khandkar Abdul Muktadir stated on Sunday.

Addressing the inaugural meeting of the Tea Industry Development Advisory Committee at the Bangladesh Secretariat, the minister emphasized that the sector must break free from loan dependency.

He highlighted the importance of transforming it into a self-sustaining industry that consistently adds value to the national economy through revenue, taxes, and VAT.

Muktadir said the livelihoods of a large number of workers depend on the tea industry. The closure or bankruptcy of any tea garden directly affects workers’ families and local communities.

“So, the sector must be made sustainable and profitable in the interests of workers’ protection, environmental balance and the national economy,” he said.

Referring to Bangladesh’s history as a tea-exporting country, the minister said disruptions in production could again make the country dependent on imports.

He expressed the view that coordinated initiatives could help overcome the sector’s challenges and restore the tea industry to a stronger position.

At the meeting, participants proposed using unused and fallow land within tea gardens, without changing their core characteristics, for solar power projects for a specified period. They also proposed agriculture, alternative afforestation and income-generating initiatives through clustering or net metering.