From London and Kolkata to Chattogram: The tea auction hub driving Bangladesh’s trade

Highlight

• In the 2024–25 season, over 87.2 million kilograms of tea more than 97% of all auctioned tea passed through Chattogram, according to the Bangladesh Tea Board. By contrast, Srimangal and Panchagarh auction centres handled 1.24 million and 1.12 million kilograms, respectively

The tea industry in the Indian subcontinent boasts a legacy spanning nearly two centuries. Tea cultivation began in Chattogram in 1840 under British colonial initiative, later spreading to Sylhet. During colonial times, tea from this region was auctioned in London and Kolkata, catering to global markets.

Following Partition, Bangladesh held its first tea auction in Chattogram on 16 July 1949, marking the start of a new chapter for the country's tea trade. By the late 19th century, the rail link from Assam to Chattogram enabled planters in Assam and Sylhet to export tea through Chattogram Port rather than Kolkata. This shift prompted the development of warehouses and trade infrastructure in the port city.

More than seventy-five years on, Chattogram remains the heart of Bangladesh's tea trade, hosting the majority of auctions. While new auction centres have opened in Srimangal (2018) and Panchagarh (2023), Chattogram's dominance is undiminished.

According to Bangladesh Tea Board archives, after Partition in 1947, local planters recognised the need for a domestic auction hub. 

On June 6, 1948, four British firms—WF Cresswell, J Thomas, AW Figgis, and Carritt Moran—joined forces with local businessman Khan Bahadur Mujibur Rahman to establish Pakistan Brokers Limited, later renamed National Brokers Limited. The first auction in Chattogram followed the next year.

Records from the Bangladesh Cha Sangsad (Tea Association of Bangladesh) show that by 1952, just two years after the Chattogram auction centre opened, 198,428 bags of tea were sold locally, compared with 211,705 bags in London. The last Bangladeshi tea auction in London took place in 1993, when 98,000 kilograms were sold.

In the 2024–25 season, over 87.2 million kilograms of tea more than 97% of all auctioned tea passed through Chattogram, according to the Bangladesh Tea Board. By contrast, Srimangal and Panchagarh auction centres handled 1.24 million and 1.12 million kilograms, respectively.

From garden to auction to consumer

Once tea leaves arrive from the gardens, they are stored in Chattogram warehouses for auction. Broking firms collect samples from each lot, and professional tea tasters assess leaf and liquor quality to estimate a probable price. Detailed catalogues with sample pricing are sent to major buyers over a week before the auction.

Weekly auctions, held under the supervision of the Bangladesh Tea Board and organised by the Tea Traders Association of Bangladesh (TTAB), take place every Monday from April to March. The current venue is the Progressive Tower in Agrabad, Chattogram. Over fifty buyer companies, including Ispahani, Abul Khair, Meghna, HRC, TK Group, City Group (Bengal Tea), Lipton, and Danish, regularly participate, alongside loose-tea buyers from Dhaka, Chattogram, and other districts.

Government policy mandates that growers sell at least 75% of their produce through auctions. Estate owners may sell up to 25% directly after paying taxes, but only with Tea Board approval. Similarly, all tea imports and exports require Tea Board clearance.

Chattogram hosts 16 licensed warehouses, compared with six in Moulvibazar and three in Panchagarh. Tea from estates in Sylhet, Chattogram, and Panchagarh is stored in these facilities ahead of auctions. With superior quality control and infrastructure, Chattogram remains the preferred hub for both growers and traders. The majority of large buyers' blending factories and storage facilities are also based here, along with the headquarters of the seven authorised broking firms that conduct the auctions.

Kamran Tanvirur Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Cha Sangsad, told TBS, "The auction centre was originally set up in Chattogram because of the port's facilities. Exporters primarily purchased tea from the auction for shipment through the port. While tea exports have declined, these infrastructural advantages mean that Bangladesh's tea trade still revolves largely around Chattogram."