Smuggled low quality tea floods Jessore markets
Low quality tea smuggled from India is flooding the markets of the district.
The locally produced tea brands are being elbowed out gradually due to the aggression of the Indian tea, traders said.
A syndicate of Indian smugglers in collusion with its local accomplices are bringing in the low quality tea from the neighbouring country, they said.
Smuggling of the inferior quality tea by the syndicate goes on unhindered through different border points, threatening local tea industry.
According to experts, such inferior quality tea which is being marketed without examining its standard, is also unsafe for public health.
To earn more profit, tea stall owners are using the tea which is cheaper than the local brands, endangering health of the consumers, locals said.
The low quality tea, often found date-expired, is also available in the markets of Khulna, Jhenidah and Kushtia districts.
Sources linked to tea trading said that poor Indian tea intruded into local markets, mainly due to lack of monitoring by the Bangladesh Tea Board.
The inferior quality tea is destroying the market of the export-oriented Bangladeshi tea, they said.
Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute, which is responsible for monitoring standard of such products, also seems indifferent to the matter.
The Indian tea is coming to Bangladesh through road and rail routes.
During a recent visit, this correspondent found that Bangladesh Tea Board-approved different brands of tea like Vanston CD, Rajghat CD, Balishira, Amrail, Mirzapore, Rashidpur, Uttarbagh, Malnichira etc. have high demand in the local markets.
The local brands of tea are selling at prices ranging from Tk 160 to Tk 250 per kilogram.
The smuggled Indian tea is selling at Tk 180 to Tk 200 per kilogram.
Local tea traders said if they were given license, the low quality Indian tea could not capture the bordering markets in Bangladesh.
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