Unilever becomes Dubai Tea Trading Centre member

The consumer goods giant is the leader in the packaged tea market, primarily through its Lipton and Brooke Bond brands.

Dubai is well established as a hub for the shipment of tea, with 74 million kilogrammes of multi origin teas physically cleared, primarily for re-export, through the city in 2004 and an additional 61 million kilogrammes transhipped through the Dubai ports. The establishment of the DTTC will further grow these volumes, and the addition of Unilever to its membership will provide a boost both in terms of volumes and as an endorsement from one of the world's leading players.

Commenting on the announcement, Unilever's Supply Chain Director, Tim Drury said: "DTTC is offering a very interesting concept by allowing buyers to receive regular samples of available teas; have access to multi-origin teas; be able to inspect the product and to purchase teas according to their requirements. The blending system established by DTTC is an added incentive to buyers. Unilever has had a state-of-the-art tea blending and packing facility in Jebel Ali since1998. The facility has rapidly increased capacity since then, and now produces a variety of black, green and specialty teas in numerous formats. We look forward to working closely with the DTTC to assist in the further growth of Dubai as a Tea hub."

Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chief Operating Officer of DMCC, said: "We are delighted to welcome Unilever on board as a member of the DTTC. This development will further assist in our objective of building Dubai as a 'one stop shop' for the availability of multi origin teas. We now also have a good representation from suppliers of teas from different countries and, along with Unilever, a fair representation of buyers, and this list continue to grow."

Since receiving its first consignment of tea in March this year, DTTC has facilitated over 1,000 metric tones of multi-origin tea trade through the centre. Teas from major producing countries including India, Kenya, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malawi, Ethiopia and Tanzania are amongst those transacted through the Centre. These activities further cement Dubai's role as a leading hub for the tea world.

DTTC is an enterprise established by the Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre, a Dubai government initiative.