CommuniTEA: Online global tea trading portal

Following the opening speech by Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE's Minister of Economy and board member of Tejari, current Tejari CEO Omar Hijazi addressed delegates at the forum to highlight the fundamental changes that the Internet is bringing to the tea sector, from bringing greater connectivity to create a more global, efficient and active tea industry.

"Tejari's greatest value to the tea trade is to help growers, manufacturers, and other parties find their ideal business partners - a 'market-making' service that is enabled through the Tejari marketplace," Hijazi commented.

"The potential for oversupply is encouraging companies from Sri Lanka, China, India, Kenya, and the other major tea producers to become more competitive and find new outlets for their products. Sourcing partners to deliver their tea to market is a significant challenge, and bringing these organizations together is the way that Tejari will deliver value to the tea sector," he added.

In addition to Hijazi's keynote, Tejari hosted a workshop at the Forum to give delegates a hands-on look at CommuniTEA. The online tea trading portal prototype contains functionality for tea cataloguing, sample requests, and purchase of bulk tea. Tejari's development of 'market-making' capabilities for the tea sector signifies the company's ongoing initiative to create more industry-specific online solutions for its more than 4000 current members that trade via the Tejari marketplace.

"As part of our efforts to create a trading hub for the tea industry, DTTC's alliance with Tejari to create CommuniTEA reflects the role that the Internet can play in bringing together potential partners from the world's largest tea-producing markets," said Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chief Operating Officer, DMCC. "The industry reaction to the concept and live demonstration of CommuniTEA has been enthusiastic thus far", he added.