International Tea Day, celebrated on the 21st of May, is an opportunity to spotlight critical aspects of the global tea industry, which has faced significant challenges due to the pandemic in conjunction with ongoing and increasing extreme weather events.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Director General QU Dongyu commented that the tea industry could become an area providing economic growth and restoration globally to combat poverty and hunger and could come to represent income and employment, specifically for rural communities.
The FAO's annual celebration of international tea day was hosted at its headquarters in Rome, focusing on smallholder tea producers, recognising their achievements whilst raising awareness about the industry's challenges and the need for global support.
Following water, tea is the most consumed beverage globally, representing numerous health benefits for those who consume it. Tea consumption has grown over the last few years, with significant increases in consumption from the younger generations.
Worldwide, tea production equates to USD 18 billion annually, with approximately 13 million people involved in global tea production, with around 9 million tea farmers being smallholders in four major tea-producing countries, including China, India, Kenya, and Sri Lanka.
Sixty percent of tea production globally is accounted for by smallholders who are considered the sector's backbone, many of whom are women.
Dongyu shared that tea was the primary source of subsistence for millions of families, primarily within lower-income countries. These smallholders faced challenges that needed global support, including low farm gate prices, weak extension services, limited market channels, issues with accessibility to credit and technology, and challenges in meeting quality standards.
"We need to build on these developments and make every effort to ensure that the tea sector benefits smallholder growers and rural communities, not only in the short but also in the longer term," said Dongyu.
Dongyu continued that small-scale operations should remain vigilant in searching for innovative ways to become more efficient and maintain a competitive edge within the market.
The Director General stated that Digitalisation and innovation-driven solutions were essential for sustainable future growth, in conjunction with accessibility to finance. Consequently, this would also increase the sector's contribution to the 2030 Agenda and achieving its Sustainable Development Goals, where support is most necessary.
The Minister for Plantation Industries of Sri Lanka, Ramesh Pathirana, said that Sri Lanka as one of the largest tea producers, had faced significant economic downturns due to the impacts of recent years, which has prompted the country to use digital solutions to support tea farmers in improving on tea quality and quantity grown.
