The Hindu Business Line : Global tea forum to be held in Dubai

AS a prelude to commencing trading in tea futures, Dubai Tea Trading Centre (DTTC) will organise a Global Tea Forum in February 2006. The event is expected to bring Dubai into the centre stage of global tea trading.

DTTC is a subsidiary of the Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre (DMCC), a Dubai government initiative.

Ms Gaiti Rabbani, Chief Marketing Officer of DMCC, told a group of visiting journalists from India that the intention was to familiarise the producers, buyers, blenders and packers of the intricacies of the global tea market.

The Forum is intended to provide a global perspective for producers from diverse producing countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Sri Lanka, India, China, Vietnam etc. with buyers, blenders and packers from consuming countries of the East and West.

Aiming Dubai as international hub: "The DTTC was established with the objective of positioning Dubai as an international hub for tea trading and aims to significantly increase the existing volume of tea trade through Dubai. A record 77.4 million kg of multi-origin teas were physically cleared into Dubai for re-export between January and October 2005 as compared to 59 million kg during the same period last year," said Mr Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chief Operating Officer, DMCC.

"The Global Dubai Tea Forum to be held in Dubai next year will further enhance the profile of Dubai as a premium hub for the regional and global tea trade," he added.

Mr Sanjay Sethi, Head of the Dubai Tea Trading Centre, observed: "The Global Tea Forum will firmly establish Dubai as the hub of the regional tea trade as it will bring together the major players of the sector and highlight trends, opportunities and potential threats that the tea industry faces. The ingredients to make this event a success for delegates and participants are all present and we expect membership enquiries to shoot up. Major commitments and announcements are also expected at the forum from international players."

The DMCC was set up with the specific mandate to establish independent exchanges, which will undertake futures trading in individual commodities. The first off the blocks has been Dubai Gold and Commodity Exchange (DGCX), which has commenced trading in gold futures. It has also established a Dubai Diamond Exchange.

Time advantage: The International Commodities Derivatives markets in Dubai will have an added advantage of being the first such endeavour to fall in the critical time zone between the markets of Europe and the US, and the producers of Africa, Asia and Far-East. Each exchange and commodity centres are run by top-notch professionals with Mr Sanjay Sethi heading the Dubai Tea Trading Centre, Mr Tilak Doshi, the Executive Director, Energy, DMCC and Mr Colin Griffith, Director, Gold and Precious Metals of DMCC.

The Global Tea Forum is expected to become an annual event, attracting participation from major producing countries, large export houses, blenders and branded tea producers.