Bangladesh Tea Board
Profile
- Head
- Major General Md Mesbah Uddin Ahmed
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 1977
- Legal basis
- Tea Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. II of 1977), which originally constituted the Board; replaced and consolidated by the Tea Act, 2016 (Act No. 38 of 2016), the current governing statute. The Bangladesh Tea Workers' Welfare Fund Act, 2016 (Act No. I of 2016) operates in parallel. Predecessor authority: East Pakistan Tea Board established under the Tea Act, 1953.
BTB opened the 2026-27 auction season on 27 April 2026 targeting 104 million kg production; raised minimum floor prices by Tk 10-85/kg to protect gardens after 2025 output (94.91 million kg) missed the 103 million kg target; auction demand remains strong with FY2025 clearance rates of 65-80% per sale and average prices above Tk 250/kg.
Recent activity
- 2026-04-27 policy Opening auction of the 2026-27 tea season held at Agrabad, Chattogram; BTB set a production and marketing target of 104 million kg for the season, with 47 auctions each planned for Chattogram and Sreemangal and 25 for Panchagarh. ↗
- 2026-02-15 regulation BTB revised the minimum auction floor price structure: Sylhet-Chattogram region teas set at Tk 245/kg (base), grade 4/4+ raised from Tk 300 to Tk 315/kg; northern region botleaf tea set at Tk 170/kg and botleaf grade 4+ at Tk 290/kg; increases of Tk 10-85/kg vs. prior season to align with average production cost of Tk 245/kg. ↗↗
- 2025-12-21 circular BTB issued a job circular (published in Daily Business Standard 22 December 2025) for recruitment into board positions. ↗
- 2025-09-29 appointment Major General Md Mesbah Uddin Ahmed assumed chairmanship of BTB, succeeding Major General Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain who was reassigned as ambassador on deputation to the foreign ministry on 21 September 2025. ↗↗↗
Provenance & notes
BTB was originally constituted under the Tea Ordinance 1977 and moved its headquarters from Dhaka to Chittagong in 1984; the current governing statute is the Tea Act, 2016 (Act No. 38 of 2016). Bangladesh has 166-167 commercial tea estates employing approximately 140,000 registered workers; Sreemangal (Moulvibazar district, Sylhet division) hosts the majority of estates and the Sreemangal sub-auction centre. Chairman succession: Maj Gen Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain (appointed October 2024, departed September 2025) succeeded by Maj Gen Md Mesbah Uddin Ahmed (29 September 2025, incumbent). Production record: 102.92 million kg in 2023 (all-time high); 2024 output 93.04 million kg; 2025 output 94.91 million kg (target 103 million kg missed). Exports jumped 58% in 2024 to approximately 2.20 million kg (highest since 2017), average export price Tk 187.58/kg. Tea garden workers minimum daily wage: Tk 170 (Category A), Tk 169 (Category B), Tk 168 (Category C), gazette published 10 August 2023, with 5% annual escalation clause and biennial review; workers and labour rights groups continue to demand increase to Tk 500/day living wage. Chittagong Tea Auction administered weekly (Tuesdays) by the Tea Traders Association of Bangladesh (TTAB). staff_count and annual_budget_bdt are null because no disaggregated primary-source figure for BTB's own establishment or budget was confirmed; verified=2+ primary sources cross-checked on chairman, legal basis, production figures, auction price revision, and export data.
Sources
- https://teaboard.gov.bd/
- https://teaboard.gov.bd/site/view/officer_list/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Tea_Board
- https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Bangladesh_Tea_Board
- https://www.ecolex.org/details/legislation/tea-act-2016-act-no-38-of-2016-lex-faoc158189/
- http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-552/chapter-781.html
- https://grokipedia.com/page/bangladesh_tea_board
- https://www.observerbd.com/news/496563
- https://thedailymorningsun.com/?p=2832
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/314083
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/strong-demand-fuels-optimism-tea-auctions-begin-chattogram-1422731
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/tea-board-hikes-minimum-auction-price-support-struggling-gardens-1164171
- https://en.bonikbarta.com/business/8WsQH6AEGmaRReHy
- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/tea-output-edges-2025-despite-export-headwinds-4110351
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/tea-exports-jump-58-2024-1139931
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/322419/tea-workers-daily-minimum-wage-raised-to-tk170
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/tea-workers-daily-minimum-wage-tk-170
- https://bdgovtjob.net/tea-board-job-circular/
- https://ttabctg.com/