& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Tea traders want import duty to go

Star Business Report
Traders have urged the government to completely withdraw duties on imports of tea as consumption is outpacing local production.
The government long ago imposed a 60 percent supplementary duty to discourage imports of tea and protect domestic producers.
Now an influential group of garden owners are lobbying with the government to increase the duties by another 25 percent, Tea Traders Association of Bangladesh said in a statement yesterday.
If the duties are increased by another 25 percent, it would affect traders, who have over the years invested a huge sum of money in the industry to take the beverage to the people, the association said.
The sector will suffer as a result, a member of the association told The Daily Star.
The imports of tea will be costlier and the price in the local market will go up sharply as domestic supply will not be able to match the soaring demand in the current pace of production, he said.
The unrealistic import duty, which resulted in higher prices of the popular beverage, is stunting the growth potential of the industry, according to the association.
Tea production has been increasing
at a rate of only 2 to 3 percent annually against a demand growth of 8 to 9 percent over the recent years, creating a huge demand-supply gap, data from the association shows.
As a result, almost 4-5 million kilograms of tea was imported in 2010 despite heavy import duty, the association said.
Domestic tea production grew only 25.84 percent in the last two decades from 40 million kilograms in 1980 to 59.16 million kg in 2010, while domestic consumption during the period increased from 9.1 million kg to 62.98 million kg.
There are 163 tea gardens in Bangladesh stretching over an area of 115,820.33 hectres. The area suitable for production is 61,334.63 hectres although tea is grown on 54,106.24 hectres of land, according to Bangladesh Tea Board.
The number of tea factories is 116 in the country.
Tea had been one of the major exportable items of Bangladesh since 1971. The scenario has been changed in recent years because of open market economy, emergence of new entrants in the world market with low priced tea and rapid increase of internal demand in Bangladesh.
In 2009, Bangladesh exported 3.15 million kg of tea worth Tk 433.50 mil-
lion, according to the board.
Tea production has been profitable in Bangladesh for years, but the estate owners have failed to increase the production to keep pace with growth in consumption amid people's rising purchasing power, traders said.
The estate owners have already held meeting the finance minister and the chairman of the National Board of Revenue to have the duty increased in the name of the protecting the local industry, they said.
“The current price already gives the producers a higher margin. If the duty on import is increased further the estate owners would get scope to increase the auction price amid shortage of supply. It will neither help the consumers nor the country,’’ the association leader said.
At present, good-quality tea sells at Tkl65-180 per kg at Chittagong auction.
"We have heard that the process is underway to increase the supplementary duty. It will be a unilateral decision on the part of the government, as neither the government nor the NBR has held anymeetingwith the traders," he said.
"The government should ask the estate owners to increase the production. If they can produce enough tea then the need for importing tea will go.”