Organic tea grower enters Japan

Star Business Report

The country's lone organic tea grower has recently bagged export orders from the quality-conscious Japanese market, opening a new avenue for the local tea sector.

Kazi and Kazi Tea Estate Ltd, which for the first time in Bangladesh ventured into the organic tea business by taking up a project in Panchagarh in 2000, grabbed an order for exporting 4,000 kilograms of tea through a food exposition in Japan in March.

"Demand for organic foods is being created in different areas of the world, which is sure to rise in the coming days," said Kazi Anis Ahmed, director and chief executive officer of Kazi and Kazi, at a press conference, organised by Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Dhaka yesterday.

"The order volume is not so big, but the important thing is, we entered the highly sensitive Japanese market with our own brand," he said.

"It has created a new window of opportunity."

The organic tea estate is located over 600 acres of land in Tetulia and capable of producing around 2.4 lakh of tea a year. Each kilogram of organic tea sells at $4-$9 on the global market, depending on quality.

The company sells its products on the international market with the brand name "Tetulia". It is known as "Kazi & Kazi Tea" on the local market.

Before going into international market, Kazi & Kazi was recognised under JETRO's one village one product programme as part of its effort to familiarise the concept among policymakers.

The press conference was organised to make the activities public.

Organic tea is produced through organic method in which chemicals and toxic elements are not used in manufacturing states.

The production of organic tea is around one million kilograms worldwide.

Export earnings from tea stood at $14.89 million in fiscal 2007-08, up 114.55 percent from $6.94 million in 2006-07, according to the Export Promotion Bureau.

Speaking as special guest at the function, Shahab Ullah, vice-chairman of Export Promotion Bureau, said Bangladesh has also undertaken a one-district-one-product plan and identified few districts to develop certain products in line with Japan's OVOP.

Tomohiro Kinomoto, country representative of JETRO, also spoke.