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Domestic demand hinder tea export |
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August 3, 2000
Dhaka (UNB) - Due to rising domestic demand, tea export suffered a major setback last fiscal with forex earning from the sector slashed by over 54 per cent compared to the previous year. Earning from tea export came down to US$17.69 million in fiscal 1999-2000 from $38.56 million in the previous year. The earning fell 55.78 per cent short of the target of $40 million, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). The volume of export dropped 43.08 per cent to 12.91 million kilogramme during July-June period of the last fiscal from 22.68 million kg in the previous fiscal year. Average international price of tea also came down by 19.41 per cent to $1.37 per kg from $1.70 in the previous year. Tea production in the country's 153 gardens remained almost static at between 50 and 56 million kg during the last few years, but the domestic demand is rising at an average of 15-17 per cent per year, producers said. They said tea export would not increase unless measures are taken to raise production. "After 10 years, we may even have to import tea to meet the domestic need," said one garden owner. He said many old tea plants would have to be replaced with new ones while 30-40 per cent gardens with low-yields and few sick gardens have to be revamped to increase production. "All these require huge investment," he said adding that most of the planters are not in a position to inject funds for the gardens. He said few planters are trying to replace the old plants phase by phase due to fund constraint, but the pace is very slow compared to the rising demand. Bangladesh Cha Sangsad, the association of tea planters, urged the government for a rehabilitation fund to provide loans to the gardens, he said. Cha Sangsad chairman Quamrul Chowdhury, at a recent meeting of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), appealed the Industries Minister to provide Tk 100 crore for making the gardens viable. "We'll not have to import (tea) after 10 years if the fund is made available," he told the minister. |