Contribution of tea industry vital to economic development

According to experts at the two-day event, the economic performance of the tea sector has been seriously affected due to the decline in tea prices, locking producers in cyclical problems and leading to the closure of tea estates in several countries. The event was organized by the Dubai Tea Trading Centre (DTTC), an initiative of the Dubai Metals & Commodities Centre (DMCC).

"Tea is one of the most important economic sectors and the mainstay of some of the developing economies as it provides income and employment throughout the year and requires relatively little investment,"

said Lamon Rutten, Chief, Commodity Finance, Risk Management and Information, United Nations Conference On Trade and Development, USA (UNCTAD). He added that the tea industry is one of the largest employers providing jobs directly and indirectly to several million people in countries like India, Sri Lanka and Kenya.

According to figures presented by Rutten, Asia contributes over 70 per cent of tea produced in the world today with India leading world tea production with 845 million MT (26.3per cent of global production) followed closely by China with 800 million MT (24.9 per cent of global production). Kenya is the world's largest tea exporter with 89.3 per cent followed by China with 35.4 per cent and India with 21.8 of global tea exports. The top tea importers of the world are UK with 271.75 million MT and Russia which imports 244.83 million MT of tea annually.

"We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic participation from all sections of the tea industry including producers, consumers, buyers, suppliers, tea packers, manufacturers of machines and filter paper," said Sanjay Sethi, head of DTTC. "The interactive discussions over the last two days have been lively and stimulating. We look forward to taking this debate beyond the forum in order to come up with tangible initiatives that will further drive the development of the industry. The keen interest expressed by the participants has also underlined the crucial need for such a forum in the region and we will be exploring the possibility of organizing this meet on a regular basis," he added.

The financial and marketing aspect of the tea industry and its role in economic development were the main focus of discussion on the closing day of the conference. Ms Gaiti Rabbani, Chief Marketing Officer, DMCC spoke on "The Impact of Branding: Lessons from Coffee," where she explored the evolution of coffee from a commodity to a brand. Using the coffee experience, she explained the need to develop higher margin premium niche products - differentiated by taste, aroma, branding and price, which would add variety, excitement and personality to tea.

Other presentations on the closing day of the event focused on specific issues related to the tea industry. These included tea packing, innovations in machines and filter paper, industry trends and opportunities in blending, and the growing significance of flavoured teas.

The two-day Global Dubai Tea Forum drew to a successful conclusion today with the event having witnessed participation of more than 260 participants from 35 countries across the globe.