Tea the one of the high ranked export item of Bangladesh .Bangladesh tea exports sank by slightly more than two thirds in 2009 as most of the crop produced was consumed locally, a trend expected to continue this year, traders said on Monday.

Production rose by one percent to 59.24 million kg but exports fell 68 percent to 2.53 million kg in 2009, according to broker figures.

“Despite an increase in yields, exports are likely to fall further as the internal consumption is rising,” Rafay Nizam, a director at National Brokers Ltd, a leading tea broking firm, told Reuters.

By comparison, Bangladesh tea exports peaked at 31 million kg in 1980 when production was 40 million kg.

Tea grown in Bangladesh is mainly sold at the country’s lone auction centre in the port city of Chittagong in weekly sales with overseas traders increasingly scarce and most of the business now handled by local traders, Nizam said.

The average auction price in 2009 rose 23.40 percent to 136.94 taka ($1.98) per kg, following stiff competition among buyers at auctions over the period. On Jan. 26, the average auction price touched 158.83 taka per kg.

A total of 54.25 million kg of tea was sold at the auction centre in 2009, compared to 55 million kg in the previous year.

Bangladesh has 156 tea gardens covering nearly 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) and 75,000 hectares under direct tea cultivation.

Pakistan, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Afghanistan and Middle East countries are the main importers of Bangladesh teas.