LALMONIRHAT, June 07: Tea growers of northern districts got bumper yields this year because of favourable weather, but low prices frustrate them.
They are now compelled to sell green tea leaves at a price lower than what was fixed earlier by Bangladesh Tea Board.
Although the tea board has fixed per kilogram green tea leaves at Tk 18 but many farmers are now selling those at Tk 13.50, said tea farmer Moyejul Islam of Lalmonirhat district.
"We are incurring loss. We are finding it difficult to pay daily wages to labourers for plucking tea leaves," he added.
Not only Moyejul, almost every tea farmer in the north has to face loss.
According to the officials of Bangladesh Tea Board, tea growers witnessed bumper yields this season for timely rain but they failed to receive even the minimum price that prevailed last year.
Among the 41 leaf processing factories in Panchagarh, only 20-22 are now functioning, they said adding, all the factories are now overloaded with leaves.
As a result, the demand of the leaves has sharply fallen and farmers are forced to sell their produced leaves at lower prices, they said.
Tea cultivation in the flatlands of Panchagarh began in the late 1990s due to its favourable weather and soil but soon expanded to other districts in the region.
Tea farming has also become popular among the farmers of the northern districts. Earlier, farmers here used to cultivate crops like paddy, potato, wheat and others. Bangladesh Tea Board then had trained the farmers and given all out support to the new farmers.
Now, there are 153 farmers engaged in tea farming on 197 hectares of land in five northern districts.
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