The Hindu Business Line : Dubai tea forum to discuss key issues

THE first-ever Global Dubai Tea Forum, to be held during February 27-28, has attracted extensive attention from the international tea industry with over 130 delegates scheduled to attend.

The forum is being organised by the Dubai Tea Trading Centre, an initiative of the Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre.

The forum will see participation from some of the most well-known names in the tea industry who will discuss key issues related to the tea industry, according to a statement.

"The significance of tea as a commodity for trade has grown considerably in recent years with world tea production touching nearly 3.3 billion kg in 2005," said Mr Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chief Operating Officer, DMCC.

With increasing production, trade, and consumption, the industry also faces several new challenges and issues that must be addressed to ensure the continued growth of the industry.

The Global Dubai Tea Forum will focus on several such issues, including the role of the tea industry in economic development.

"The Dubai Global Tea Forum is a truly international forum which has attracted significant high-level representation from tea producing and consuming countries across the globe," said Mr Sanjay Sethi, Head of the Dubai Tea Trading Centre.

"This is first forum of its kind in the region and Dubai represents neutral ground for discussions among the world's leading producers and regional consuming countries."

Some of the general topics for discussion at the forum are `The Internet: The future of the tea trade', `Computerised Tea Auctions: Experience and Learning from India', `CSR and Environmental considerations in the Tea Supply Chain', and `The impact of Branding: Lessons from Coffee'.

The forum will also discuss several industry specific issues such as `Blending: Industry trends and opportunities', `Tea Packing, Machines and Filter Paper: Innovations', `Tea bag machine technology', `Filter paper technology', and `Flavored tea and growth patterns'.