Tea is our pride

Tea is our pride, for which we can be proud of for the reason that it is the best tea on the globe. It is the duty of every Sri Lankan, especially the diplomatic missions worldwide, to defend and promote our silver inherited as much as the beauty of Sri Lanka which is matchless.

Sri Lanka’s tea is unique due to its flavour, colour and character, which cannot be readily found elsewhere. The humidity, cool temperature, sunshine, and rainfall (two monsoons) in the country’s central and southern highlands are conducive to the manufacture of unique quality teas.

Tea plantations are scenic and pristine. Tea is grown, handpicked and processed in an artisanal process, unchanged over a century. Where else in the world one could find this combination in one island?

High consumption

Tea is the most consumed drink next to water. It is very healthy harmless and a natural drink, which is consumed as a social drink which bonds families countries including Sri Lanka (once Ceylon), which has now lost the position as the main exporter to the world.

Tea growing areas are limited due to shortage of land, and the cost of production has become unbearable mainly due to the shortage and high wages of labour and maintenance. Estate owners do not invest in replanting and new plantations due to excessive expenditure and the length of period for returns, though once the tea is properly grown, the benefit will extend over a few decades.

But in an era citizens are looking for quick and large margins on profits, traditional investors in cultivation are rare. This is a sad and disturbing situation. It is time local investors and tea estate owners are encouraged to replant and/or use tea estates for tea tourism, for which the environment is ideal due to the landscape and beauty in addition to availability.

Tourists, especially those from the Middle East, are full of praise and love for our tea estates for their beauty, calm environment and greenery coupled with sceneries. It is time the Tourist Board and Tea Board engage in an exploratory expedition on this area to benefit the tourist industry as well as tea industry and both industries in return will be boosted with unexpected publicity for both areas.

Sad state of affairs

It is a sad state of affairs that people have got used to unhealthy fast food and beverages with strong chemicals and poisonous materials. However the concerns are raised and advice given to discourage unhealthy breweries and encourage healthy and natural drinks, the billions spend on advertisements and attractions have overtaken the campaigners for natural drinks which are healthy, cheap and readily available.

Sadly in Sri Lanka coffee with a lot of sugar is available at parties and offices, increasing the diabetic population, when tea is freely available in every corner. A young coconut is only Rs. 30 whereas an artificial beverage with a lot of sugar and chemicals will cost over Rs. 50, which passes billion of rupees to multinational companies.

Ironically the average youngster and even an adult will go for the unhealthy artificial beverage in place of a natural young coconut or a healthy cup of tea. India is far above us. They have banned artificial beverages and multinational companies from Indian soil.

Foreign markets

Tea is marketed and popular in Russia. The most important foreign markets for Sri Lankan tea are the former Soviet bloc countries of the CIS, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Iran, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Libya, and Japan.

The political situation in some countries has a direct effect on Ceylon Tea and it is time for us to look for alternatives until the situation in the Middle East settles. The Arab world and West considers tea as a healthy smooth traditional social drink.

Consumption patterns have changed due to the fast life with the adoption of quicker methods such as tea bags instead of the traditional pot of tea, or naturally made tea traditionally for quiet and smooth enjoyment. Still tea is synonymous with Ceylon with the brand and the trademark for pure original and quality tea. Awareness and demand for Ceylon Tea among consumers in the Gulf market is high. Loose tea consumption has dominated over consumption of tea bags. Consumers are gradually weaned away from loose quality tea due to aggressive media campaigns and fast life of consumers.

Multinational brands increase their market share through heavy media/promotional spend and sophisticated packaging, despite using inferior ‘multi origin teas’. The brand has become more significant than the origin. This trend is seen in former Ceylon strongholds such as Russia and former Soviet Republics.

New avenues

It is time we look for new avenues to sell our tea with least effort as it is not difficult to find markets for quality consumer items with a worldwide love and reputation. It is useful to adopt a market strategy to sell our pride and silver to our friends who love the warmth of the people of this beautiful country.

The best is to use UAE which is a country so close to our hearts and minds as a vehicle for our tea which is already a platform in this strategic location and diversified terrains. Positioned in the heart of the old world, the UAE is the ideal access point to the three continents as a vital transit point between East and West.

Dubai is the business hub in the Middle East and UAE is the shining jewel on trade and tourism with 7.9 million visitors in 2010, and the world’s largest shopping mall – the Dubai Mall. With the world’s tallest building, one of the top destination cities in the world, world’s largest man made harbour and the world’s largest manmade island, this is the best and most friendly and accessible destination to promote our tea and use it as a platform to all other destinations including the West.

Dubai is a business hub for tea trade as well. Our pride is devaluated and the trademark is exploited by our competitors in tea trade. An aggressive and consorted effort is urgently needed to counter dilution and promote our pride and silver. To meet this demand, the Sri Lankan Embassy in the UAE has initiated a dialogue/discussion with the Sri Lankan (tea) business community in UAE and Sri Lanka with the participation of the Chairperson of the Tea Board and all interested parties in UAE or GCC on 26 September 2012 to explore the means of promoting Sri Lankan tea in order to maintain the brand and quality, which has been maintained for centuries.

Those who wish to take part in the seminar/workshop may communicate with the Sri Lankan Embassy in the UAE on 0097126316444, 0097126315252, 0552503888, 0557396689 or 0553054991 or email [email protected]; web – srilankaembassyuae.com.

(The writer is Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. He can be reached via [email protected].)