Page 67 - #46 English

When discussing tea producing of the production. Although there is still mate highly favorable for growing tea in
countries, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos and suitable land available it appears that the this area, which is contiguous with Assam
Thailand are rarely top of mind. These government is not giving enough financial and Bengal in India, the cash crop is now
Southeast Asia countries are close neighbors incentives for investing into new tea plan- being cultivated on over 3,500 acres in this
with the world’s major tea producers, and tations. Furthermore, rubber trees pay the area. Because the humus content (humus
although the output is low, each produces farmers well and are less labor intensive is a specially fertile soil component made
quality teas. Bangladesh and Myanmar bor- than tea, with 1.3 man labor per hectare of decayed plant matter and manure that
der Assam, the world’s biggest single-region (ha), compared to two-man labor per ha have been there for a long time) in the soil
tea producer. Laos and Myanmar border for tea. is higher than in the traditional tea-growing
China’s Yunnan province, whilst 1,000km of With more than 150 tea factories, areas of Sylhet, tea quality is high. This prom-
Laos borders Vietnam, the world’s fifthlarg- the green leaf is mainly provided by small ises to be a new avenue of employment for
est tea producer. Thailand shares a border holders and is a vital part of their income. the locals and may hopefully attract buyers
with Laos and Myanmar. Since the planting of rubber is detrimental from abroad. Several nurseries have been
For centuries, many ethnic minori- to the soil in the long term, the Tea Board set up to supply these high quality saplings
ties have harvested their locally endemic tea has submitted an official request to the to the traditional tea gardens.
territories, crossing the newly established government, that the current tea acreage of Today, all the local retail teas are
state borders on their jungle paths. The 118,000ha must be preserved by all means. sold in branded packs and the annual per
commercial planting of tea, however, was capita consumption averages 0.47kg, a
launched only under the British and French figure expected to grow with the ever-
colonial rules. Bangladesh, the former East increasing urbanization. Since 2009, more
Pakistan, and Myanmar, formerly Burma, tea is being imported to meet the shortfall of
gained independence from the British Em- production, which may lead to blending and
pire in 1947. Laos gained independence some lowering of quality. At the same time,
from French colonial rule in 1949. Thailand, exports are down to a trickle, with a focus
the former Kingdom of Siam, is the only on some special premium teas. The intro-
country of the four that has never been duction of tea bags in 2009 further boosted
under foreign rule. consumption because of the convenience.
With their capacity to retain both The premium quality tea bags currently have
soil and water, which helps to fight land sur- about 20 percent of the domestic market.
face erosion, tea bushes and tea trees have The tea trade plays an important role in
been recognized as improving the environ- Chittagong, the country’s biggest port city,
ment. Furthermore, the tea crop provides which is home to the largest Bangladeshi
livelihood, both for local consumption as tea companies. Historically, it was the main
pickled tea, tea soup or tea drink, and by In 2000, the sub-Himalayan terrain gateway for tea exports from former Eastern
earning cash on the market. Tea, however, of Panchagarh, in the most northwestern Bengal and Assam during the British Raj.
is labor intensive and prices are not always corner, began tea cultivation, starting with After the partition of British India in 1947,
fully rewarding. only 300 acres of land. With soil and cli- East Pakistan emerged as a leading world

Bangladesh: Tea vs. Rubber Trees
Bangladesh is the biggest tea pro-
ducer of the four with an output of 63,200
metric tons (mt) of mainly black CTC tea in
2013. With 152.2 million people living on
144,000km, this is one of the most densely
populated countries in the world. The huge
flat plains of the Ganges and Brahmaputra
river deltas are not convenient for tea; it
is the higher Surma valley in the north
East, around Sylhet, where commercial
tea growing started in 1854. In this beauti-
ful green landscape of gently rolling hills
there are terraced tea estates everywhere,
interspersed with some fruit plantations
and tropical forest. Amongst the founding
fathers of the tea industry is the London,
England-based James Finlay Co., which
was established in Glasgow, Scotland, in
1750, with several estates in Habiganj and
Mulvibazaar, and still produces about 20
percent of the Bangladesh teas.
Major General Abdus Salam Khan,
chairman of the Bangladesh Tea Board,
based in Chittagong, reported that currently Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand are not top of mind when it comes to tea growing.
domestic consumption is taking up most Despite their low recognition and small output, these countries produce quality teas

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