New Ideas to Boost World Tea Market

Realizing the potential of tea in the world market, new ideas are set to change the world tea production according to a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Report prepared for the Intergovernmental Group on Tea meeting in Hangzhou, China. The report revealed that the world tea production continues to grow with a growth rate of more than 3 percent reaching an estimated 3.6 million tons every year. Another highlight of the report is FAO’s projections which indicate that world green tea production is expected to grow at a considerably faster rate than black tea, 4.5 % annually compared to 1.9 % for black tea.

One of the goals of the Joint meeting in Hangzhou is to expand tea consumption worldwide through the enforcement of minimum quality standards for tea traded internationally. The meeting will also examine and identify potential geographical indications (GIs) or major consumers of tea. The GIs will be assessed based on an international regulatory framework.

To read the full article, view http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000836/index.html. To browse through the documents of the Hangzhou meeting including the report on tea quality improvement, visit http://www.fao.org/unfao/bodies/ccp/tea/2008/index_en.htm.