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| Sunday, 10 August 2003 |
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Sri Lankan tea takes centre stage by Elmo Leonard Sri Lanka will be the focus of the international tea trade when FAO holds its 15th sessions of the Inter Governmental Group on Tea, in Colombo, from 18-20 August. For Sri Lanka, it would be the 4th international tea convention and the first time this tropical island, renowned for its exquisite teas, hosts this Food and Agricultural Organisation assembly. The FAO assembly accounts for most of the vital global policy decisions, formulated. Sri Lanka will make use of this event to maximise it's mileage for tea, at a time when tea producing nations are growing in number and with it, some very poor quality teas infiltrate into the global tea supply. A case in point being Vietnam, who flooded the global supply equation with low quality coffee and now, tea, Colombo Tea Traders' Association (CTTA) chairman, Mahen Dayananda told the media. Coinciding with the FAO event, will be a spectacular International Tea Exhibition, scheduled from 20-23 August, at the new exhibition wing of BMICH, Colombo. The Tea Exhibition will harness the participation of the major players in the Tea Industry and related industries, the convention and exhibition organising committee, Chairman, Dickie Juriansz said. Among the participants would be the plantation companies, export companies, suppliers of packing machinery and packing material, shipping lines, banks and trade journals associated with the tea industry. Eighty stalls were sold out with good overseas participation. High level delegates from the FAO member organisations and countries are expected to attend the event in Colombo, from: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, China, Egypt, E U, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, U K, U S A, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. The event is being coordinated by the Sri Lanka Tea Board in association with CTTA and the Sri Lanka Tea Cluster. Workshops on the tea industry for those in the tea trade and senior students of schools and universities is also on the cards, Chairman Sri Lanka Tea Board, George Pelpola said. Among invitees are UNO, ESCAP, UNCTAD, ITC, WHO, World Bank, the Common Fund for Commodities, European Tea Committee and WTO. 'Sri Lanka is the largest exporter of tea in the world, with most of its 230 million kilograms, shipped. While tea as a beverage receives intensive competition from soft drinks, including highly advertised, colas, milk, wine, coffee and even water, the 21st Century has seen tea emerge as an exciting and refreshing beverage, acting director general SLTB'. Hasitha de Alwis said. This is because tea is no longer considered a low cost alternative to water and a new breed of discerning customers around the world is discovering the diversity found in tea, being that there are different teas, each with its peculiar taste profiles to suit the consumers varying moods at different times of the day. Sri Lanka is making use of these new global trends to market different teas coming from its varying agro-climatic zones. No longer would the flavours of Ceylon tea be linked to Uva or Dickoya teas, Juriansz said. The many different grades of tea produced by each tea factory in the island is now being highlighted. `The speciality Tea of the Year' competition was conducted in respect of teas from the different agro-climatic zones and the different grades produced and offered at the Colombo Tea Auctions over the last year. The winners of this competition who sold teas at the highest prices will be introduced to the delegates and given awards during the FAO tea convention. In a further effort to promote speciality teas from Sri Lanka, a group of 30 speciality tea dealers from the American Speciality Tea Registry have been invited to visit Sri lanka during this convention. They will be conducted on a week's intensive tea tour during their stay, here. Ten members of the Japanese Tea Association who would attend the international tea convention will arrive a few days before the event to undertake a familiarization tea tour. |
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