The government is set to introduce the National Tea Award in order to help boost production and improve quality of the product.
Moreover, the award is also expected to help facilitate export and market diversification of the item.
The award will be given in eight categories. The number may be changed following Bangladesh Tea Board's (BTB) recommendations.
The categories are: best tea estate based on highest yield/acreage, best quality tea estate based on highest average price in tea auction, best garden based on labour welfare, best tea exporter based on foreign earning, best small-scale tea garden based on highest yield/acreage, best company based on diversified tea products in the market, best company based on attractive and safe packaging, and best worker based on highest tea-leaf plucking.
The recognitions will be given on the National Tea Day - to be observed on June 04.
According to the National Tea Award Policy 2022, a small-scale tea garden should be less than 25 acres.
Moreover, the requirement for the formation of a high-powered committee, headed by the Ministry of Commerce, has been included in the draft policy for the award.
A total of 148 tea gardens are currently registered with the BTB.
Bangladesh produced an estimated 96.51 million kg of tea in 2021, of which 95.93 million kg were consumed locally and 0.68 million kg were exported.
The government earlier set a target to produce 100 million kg of tea in 2022. Around 86 million kg were produced up to November, as per the BTB data.
The government has set a target to increase tea production to 140-million kg by 2025 to meet the country's growing demand and increase its export.
