Tea Forum draws tea industry from the world to Dubai

The delegate profile for the event includes government bodies, producers, merchants and exporters from most tea producing countries, regional and international buyers, machine manufacturers and other tea related raw material suppliers.

The forum is being organized by the Dubai Tea Trading Centre, an initiative of the Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre. The forum, which is taking place on February 27th and 28th at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai, will see participation from some of the most well known names in the tea industry who will discuss key issues related to the tea industry.

"The significance of tea as a commodity for trade has grown considerably in recent years with world tea production touching nearly 3.3 billion Kg in 2005," said Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chief Operating Officer, DMCC. With increasing production, trade and consumption, the industry also faces several new challenges and issues that must be addressed to ensure the continued growth of the industry. The Global Dubai Tea Forum will focus on several such issues, including the role of the tea industry in economic development," he added.

"The Dubai Global Tea Forum is a truly international forum which has attracted significant high level representation from tea producing and consuming countries across the globe," said Sanjay Sethi, Head of the Dubai Tea Trading Centre. "This is first forum of its kind in the region and Dubai represents neutral ground for discussions among the world's leading producers and regional consuming countries," he added.

Some of the general topics for discussion at the Forum include: "The Internet: The future of the tea trade," "Computerized Tea Auctions: Experience and Learning from India," "CSR and Environmental considerations in the Tea Supply Chain" and "The impact of Branding: Lessons from Coffee."

The forum will also discuss several industry specific issues including "Blending: Industry trends and opportunities," "Tea Packing, Machines and Filter Paper: Innovations," "Tea bag machine technology," "Filter paper technology," and "Flavored tea and growth patterns."

The Dubai Global Tea Forum is supported by some of the best known names in the industry including IMA S.P.A and DPH International GmBH, James Finlay group, Chewaka Estate, MK Shah Group. Local sponsors of the event also include DP World, which provides port management services, Tejari, the Middle East's premier B-2-B marketplace and Steinweg-Sharaf FZE, a global logistics provider.