For several years, tea estates in Bangladesh had been operating at a loss, as auction prices remained lower than production costs. In 2024, the Bangladesh Tea Board for the first time set a minimum price for tea at auctions. When that measure failed to ease the crisis, the board raised the floor price again in 2025. As a result, during the ongoing 2025–26 season, auction prices per kilogram have risen by about BDT 26 on average compared with the previous season.
According to a report from the Bangladesh Tea Board, a total of 41.74 million kilograms of tea were sold at auctions through September in the 2025–26 season. The total value of the tea, excluding taxes and duties, stood at BDT 9.83 billion. This puts the average price per kilogram at around BDT 236. During the same period of the 2024–25 season, 35.78 million kilograms of tea were sold for BDT 7.53 billion, with an average price slightly above BDT 210 per kilogram. This means the average auction price has increased by roughly BDT 26 per kilogram in the current season.
At the most recent international auction held in Chattogram on September 27, 2025, the average price per kilogram of tea was BDT 253.26. In the previous auction, the 24th of the season, the average was BDT 254.33. Since over 77 percent of the tea was sold at the 25th auction and more than 70 percent at the 24th, estate owners expect prices to remain favorable through the end of the auction year.
In June 2025, the Tea Board revised the minimum price, raising it by BDT 10 to BDT 85 per kilogram, depending on quality. Following a stakeholder meeting to set current prices and policy actions, the board fixed the minimum price for tea from Sylhet and Chattogram regions at BDT 245 per kilogram and for northern region’s botleaf tea at BDT 170 per kilogram. The new rates took effect after Eid-ul-Azha, in line with a decision from a meeting chaired by the commerce adviser on May 14.
According to documents from the Bangladesh Tea Board, once tea leaves are supplied from the gardens, brokerage firms evaluate them in seven grades based on liquor rating. Under this system, the price of grade Four and Four Plus tea produced in Sylhet and Chattogram has been raised from BDT 300 per kilogram to BDT 315, while the price of “botleaf” tea has been set at BDT 290.
Meanwhile, the price of Grade Four Minus tea has increased from BDT 280 to BDT 305 per kilogram (Sylhet and Chattogram), and to BDT 260 for botleaf. Grade Three Plus Plus and Three Plus teas are now priced at BDT 295 (Sylhet-Chattogram) and BDT 240 (botleaf), and BDT 285 and BDT 230, respectively, increased from the previous BDT 270 and BDT 245.
The price of Three liquor rated tea has gone up from BDT 245 to BDT 275 and BDT 210, while grade Three Minus liquor has risen from BDT 227 to BDT 265 and BDT 195. Grade Two Plus tea now costs BDT 255 and BDT 175, compared with BDT 210 earlier. The lowest category, Grade Two, has seen prices climb from BDT 160 to BDT 245 (Sylhet-Chattogram) and to BDT 170 for botleaf.
When contacted, Kamran Tanvirur Islam, chairman of the Bangladesh Tea Association, told Bonik Barta, “The auction prices have gone up slightly following the introduction of minimum pricing for tea. But as a weather-dependent agricultural product, the industry cannot operate with loans at interest rates of 14 to 15 percent like large industries. Since the sector depends on auctions, 31 tea estates are facing severe financial distress. Tea entrepreneurs, despite a lack of cash flow, are struggling to access loans. If these crises are not addressed soon, more estates across the country will gradually shut down.”
He added that unless the Ministry of Commerce and Bangladesh Bank resolve loan-related barriers caused by the Internal Credit Risk Rating (ICRR) system, the tea industry may enter a new phase of uncertainty.
Market sources said that due to higher auction prices, retail tea prices in the domestic market have also increased. Depending on quality, the price of all types of tea has risen by at least BDT 30 to as much as BDT 100 per kilogram.