DHAKA, March 16, 2021 (BSS) – Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) has started
online tea auction in Chattogram and about 12,000 kg of tea were sold at the
auction.
Following the experimental online auction on Monday, the online tea
auction activities will continue from the beginning of the 2021-22 tea
auction year, said a press release.
Based on the success of the experimental activities, the Tea Board expects
to bring 100 percent of the auction activities online within the next year.
Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) Member (Finance and Commerce) Nazneen Kauser
Chowdhury inaugurated the experimental activities of online tea auction while
Tea Traders Association of Bangladesh (TTAB) Chairman Shah Moinuddin Hasan,
Tea Board Marketing Officer Ahsan Habib, broker representatives and tea
traders, among others, were present.
In her speech, Nazneen Kauser Chowdhury said online tea auctions will make
the country’s tea auction and tea marketing activities more dynamic.
This will give a new impetus to tea marketing and business in the Covid
situation, she added.
“Bidders from any part of the country will be able to participate in tea
marketing through online from home. This will reduce consumer health risks,
save time and money, as well as strengthen transparency and accountability in
tea marketing. Also tea marketing will be normal in any unwanted adverse
situation including Covid”, she said.
In 2016, Tea Traders Association of Bangladesh (TTAB) started exploring
the possibility of online tea auction. The Bangladesh Tea Board instructed
the TTAB to start online tea auction as soon as the tea auction activities
were disrupted due to the Corona epidemic in 2020. Following this, the online
tea auction started experimentally.
Mirzapur tea garden was first sold at the auction through a national
broker. Ispahani Tea Ltd. bought the first lot at Taka 312 per kg. About 25
bidders participated in the online auction.