SLTB celebrates International Tea Day today

The Sri Lanka Tea Board is celebrating the International Tea Day which falls today.

SLTB said various tea producing countries were celebrating a tea day of their own, some classified as Black Tea Day and some categorised as Green Tea Day depending on the importance to each industry. 

The day was different from country to country. Sri Lanka and India used to celebrate on 10 December. However with the initiative of China who is making huge strides in the World Tea Industry, United Nations General Assembly declared 21 May as the International Tea Day. 

The Food and Agricultural Organisation Inter Governmental Group (FAO/IGG) supported this new idea of China to consolidate the date. The year 2020 is going to be the first occasion to celebrate the International Tea Day. 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic attacking the entire world, the event will not consist of outside celebrations or even indoor programs due to the necessity for social distancing and staying safely indoors as much as possible. Thus, it goes without saying that all commemorations needs to be through social and digital media, creating a token ceremonial platform in the tea producing and tea consuming countries the world over.  

The reason for celebrating the International Tea Day and creating a popular platform is multi-fold as explained below:            

1. The revenue generation from tea industry in most of the producer nations is significant and rather prominent 

2. Due to its labour intensive nature, a large working population is directly dependent on the tea industry of many countries. Therefore, the social impact is tremendous 

3. Even the affiliated supporting industries such as banking, shipping, printing, packaging, courier service, insurance etc. relies heavily on the tea industry of many manufacturing nations

4. In large tea producing and exporting countries, the success and failure of the industry has a major bearing on the ruling Government and could even change an election decision 

 In view of the foregoing, it is inevitable that a tribute has to be paid to a country’s tea industry which is a vital sector for the progress of its economy. The involved people need to be recognised. The supply chain players in the value addition cycle from the farmers to pluckers and right up to the brand marketeer given due cognition. So, this is a fascinating story where all the stakeholders in the tea industry could bravely “walk the talk”. 

In such a background, the Sri Lanka tea industry wishes to recognise few vital characters and crucial segmentation to pay tribute for the invaluable service and enormous sacrifices made to raise the popularity and perceived quality parameters to stardom:

•   The sweat of the toiling workers is the green gold which ultimately serves the connoisseur to his or her satisfaction 
• The tea stains on the fingers of the pluckers tell an unknown story which is unlimited in value 
• A great story on uplifting women’s empowerment from birth to death 
• Reliability, consistency and sustainability is the forte of the Sri Lanka Tea Industry now boasting of a 153-year heritage. These unique pillars have been the backbone of the island nation’s economy for many years 

The Sri Lanka tea fraternity salutes the brave and courageous workforce in the tea industry who are continuing to produce the golden brew to the satisfaction of tea connoisseurs globally despite the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown by retaining the required social distancing, sanitation precautions and protection through the wearing of face masks and sometimes, hand gloves.