White tea brings new business opportunities

Highlights

• Traders coming forward to popularise the new tea variety at the retail level
• White tea was sold at Tk5,010 per kg at Srimangal tea auction centre in Moulvibazar
• All the white tea raised at the Srimangal auction was sold out
• White tea reduces belly fat, the risk of cancer

The increasing popularity of white tea among consumers has brought about new businesses opportunities in the tea industry.

To meet this growing demand, traders are also coming forward to popularise the new tea variety at the retail level.

Recently, white tea was sold at Tk5,010 per kilogramme at the country's second tea auction centre at Srimangal in Moulvibazar. This white tea is from Vrindavan tea garden in Habiganj.

Although white tea was produced in the country earlier also, this is the first time the new tea variety is being sold at the Srimangal auction centre.

Confirming the matter, Helal Ahmed, director of Tea Planters and Traders Association of Bangladesh (TPTAB), said the auction was held on the 3 February. Selim Tea House in Srimangal purchased it.

After this sale of white tea at the highest price, traders are showing interest in the potential of this new business.

Traders said Bangladeshi tea lovers are accustomed to drinking lemon tea, milk tea and green tea. Most of the tea lovers of the country are not informed about white tea, because white tea is not available in Bangladesh. It is produced in this country in a very limited range and for export only.

Helal Mia, managing director of Srimangal Tea Brokers, said white tea was placed for the first time at the Srimangal Tea Auction Centre and all the tea raised at the auction was sold out.

According to Cha Sangsad, an association of tea traders, only buds are collected for this tea, removing the leaves with special care. Only a few tea gardens in the country produce this tea on a limited scale. Buyers of white tea are mainly foreign tourists and fancy tea lovers of the country.

However, tea experts say, white tea is not actually white. This tea is pale yellow in colour.

White tea looks a lot like green tea. But there is a difference. A silver glow becomes visible after soaking the white tea in hot water. That is why it has been named White Gold. This tea is exported from Bangladesh to the United  States by Kazi and Kazi.

According to the Bangladesh Tea Board, white tea was initially cultivated in China, especially in Fujian province, but more recently it is being produced in very limited quantities in: eastern Nepal, Taiwan, northern Thailand, Gaul (southern Sri Lanka), India, and Bangladesh.

White tea is derived from the silvery-white fibers on the underside of buds of camellia sinensis, which gives the plant a whitish appearance.

Jamal Ahmed, director of Shaon Tea House in Srimangal, said. "White tea reduces belly fat, the risk of cancer and is very beneficial for the human body. We learned this through tea scientists. I also sold two kilogrammes of white tea at the auction. White tea has brought potential for new business. People are very interested."

Md Selim Ahmed, proprietor of Selim Tea House–which bought white tea at the auction in Srimangal–said, "A lot of tourists come to Srimangal. They demand the best quality tea. They buy tea as gifts for themselves and their loved ones when returning back. These customers have a kind of weakness towards white tea. As it is less available, we bought it at the highest price. We hope that its production will increase in the future and then the price will also go down."

Talking to traders, it is learned that the first white tea was auctioned in the country's market in Chattogram on 27 July, 2020. The auction was held at the Progressive Tower at Agrabad in the port city.

At the auction, Purbo Bangla Brokers catalogued 10 kilogrammes of white tea produced by National Tea Company (NTC) at its Champarai Tea Garden at the Chittagong auction. It was purchased by Padma Tea Supply from Station Road in Srimangal, Moulvibazar.

That was the first time silver needle grade of white tea was produced in the country. It was sold at Tk2,500 per kilogramme.

Meghnad Hajra, proprietor of Padma Tea Supply that bought white tea for the first time in the country, said, "After buying from the Chattogram auction, I have bought it three more times. There is a lot of demand from customers."

"Often local and foreign buyers look for the best quality tea from us, but we find it difficult to find tea to quench their thirst. With this white tea we are trying to quench their thirst for tea. This white tea used to be consumed only by foreign tourists and upper class fancy tea lovers, but now we want to bring this tea within the reach of the middle class; so that they too can enjoy the taste of it. Our goal is to make white tea popular and easily available," he added.

Johar Tarafdar, member secretary of the Tea Traders and Planters Association of Bangladesh, said, "The inclusion of white tea at the retail level is a major step in the development of the tea industry. Our country's tea industry will be further developed by increasing the production and marketing of high quality tea like white tea. Buyers will be able to drink quality tea and traders will benefit from it."

GM Shibli, chairman of Bangladesh Cha Sangsad's Sylhet unit, said, "There is currently no internationally-recognised definition of white tea. Basically, white tea is a kind of tea produced by drying only, without any other processing."

"There is a lot of demand for this tea due to which many garden owners are interested in producing the variety. White tea is showing new scope in the tea business," he added.