Govt forms high-level committee on tea sector loans, financing
The committee will also provide recommendations on declaring tea an agricultural product and commercially installing solar panels on unused land in tea gardens.
The government has formed a high-level committee to recommend rescheduling existing loans of tea garden owners, extending new credit and establishing a revolving fund for the tea sector at a 6% interest rate.
The committee will also provide recommendations on declaring tea an agricultural product and commercially installing solar panels on unused land in tea gardens.
The Prime Minister's Office announced the formation of the "Monitoring and Advisory Committee for the Development of Bangladesh's Tea Industry" in a gazette notification yesterday.
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The committee, chaired by the commerce minister with the commerce ministry secretary as member secretary, includes the principal secretary to the prime minister, Bangladesh Bank governor, secretaries of the land, finance, commerce and agriculture ministries, National Board of Revenue chairman and Bangladesh Tea Board chairman, among others.
According to the notification, the committee will recommend rescheduling tea garden owners' existing cash loans to ease repayment and extend new loans. It will also give its opinion on establishing a revolving fund for the tea sector at 6% interest.
Another key responsibility is to assess whether tea can be declared an agricultural product and submit recommendations on the matter.
The committee will also examine the potential for commercial installation of solar panels on unused land in tea gardens. It has been asked to submit a report with recommendations on these issues within 30 days.
The initiative brings the tea industry's financing constraints, debt burden and alternative use of unused garden land under a single policy framework. If implemented, the proposed loan restructuring and low-interest revolving fund could expand financing opportunities for tea gardens.
Besides senior government officials, the committee includes Bangladesh Tea Association chairman, former lawmaker M Ohidul Haque, chairman of the Tea Traders Association of Bangladesh, chairman of the Tea Planters and Traders Association of Bangladesh, and the president and secretary-general of the Bangladesh Bought Leaf Tea Factory Owners' Association.
