Export of Bangladeshi tea slightly increased in recent times, thanks to quality enhancements, focus on retail packs and surplus production crossing domestic consumption.
Manufacturers said that if investment in gardens increased in future, then the country may reach its tea export target.
The Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) had declared the target for 2025 around 15-20 million kilograms (kg).
The highest amount of tea exported in a year was 13.65 million kg in 2002, according to the BTB.
Annual export figures dipped as low as 540,000 kg in 2013 and 2015.
It crossed 600,000 kg in 2018 and 2019 before jumping to 2.17 million kg in 2020, but then it fell to 680,000 kg in 2021.
As of November this year, around 750,000 kg has been exported.
Exports depend on production which has mostly catered to domestic consumption.
The highest amount produced was 96.50 million kg in 2021.
In 2019, production was 96.07 million kg, slightly higher than the domestic consumption of 95.20 million kg.
According to Bangladeshi manufacturers, China, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Japan and India currently control the global tea market.
India, China and Sri Lanka are far ahead of Bangladesh in terms of pricing in the competitive market, exporting tea at a far lower price, they also said.
The cost of production in Bangladesh is high due to various reasons and for this Bangladesh is still lagging far behind, they added.
Bangladesh was the world's fifth highest tea exporting country back in the 1990s, when international demand was high considering the good quality of local blends, BTB further said.
The country is currently listed as the world's ninth largest tea producer, responsible for around 2% of the world's total production, according to Bangladesh Tea Association, a platform of tea garden owners.
The 166 tea estates across the country cover almost 280,000 acres of land, it said.
