Buyers returned to the weekly tea auction in Bangladesh on Tuesday, ending two weeks of boycott after the government temporarily suspended a new tax, brokers said. More than 3 million kg of tea remained unsold due to the stalemate over the 5 percent new tax that kept buyers away from two auctions in Chittagong port city, the first of its kind, prompting some buyers to import tea.
The government has suspended the new tax for one month after a meeting on Sunday between Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and stakeholders including tea growers, buyers and brokers. "Buyers ended their boycott after the finance minister instructed the tax authority to work out an acceptable solution within a month," said M. Saiful Islam, managing director at National Brokers Ltd, the largest tea broking firm in the country. "Meanwhile, the buyers don't need to pay the new tax," he said. The new tax is in addition to a 17 percent tax the buyers are paying already. "Today's market looks strong with large participation of buyers," said another official at National Brokers.
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