There are 18 tea gardens in Barlekha spread over an area of 64.39 km2, most of which were established by the English tea planters during the time of British Raj. Each garden has its own tea-processing factory. Tea laborers who work in the gardens were brought in the 1800s from outside of Bengal under rather questionable working conditions. Sujanagar of this upazila is known for producing incense and attar (essence of flowers and Agar tree). For over a century, these have found markets in Middle Eastern and Far Eastern countries. There are about 350-400 agar attar factories in Barlekha. Agar attar is considered as liquid gold of Bangladesh. About 2000 litres of agar attar is produced in Barlekha every year. Cottage industries include weaving, sheetalpati, bamboo and cane work, iron work, and potteries are other works of Barlekha.