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Tea

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Like other world commodities such as coffee and cocoa, the price of tea in real terms has dropped by over 40% between 1970 and 1998. To compensate for the loss of revenue, the producer countries, which depend on foreign income, try to export more and this simply exacerbates the problem!

Tea Facts

Tea is the world's second most popular drink next to water!
Tea originated in China around 2700 BC when the leaves of a (tea) bush - (native to south western China) were discovered to have a wonderful taste when infused in water.
There are three types of tea classification:
- Black tea - fermented after plucking
- Green tea - unfermented
- Oolong - Semi Fermented
Tea became a popular drink amongst the British upper classes in the seventeenth century. Later tea was introduced for production into the British colonies such as India, Sri Lanka and Kenya.
Today, India and China are the largest producers and consumers of tea. India, China, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Indonesia account for over 75% of the tea exports in the world.
Unlike coffee and cocoa, most of the tea is grown in large plantations and millions of hired plantation workers live in the plantations. The exception is Kenya where 60% of the tea produced is from small-scale farmers.
In addition to the food industry, tea has recently is being used by the pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies for its vitamin and fluoride content, as well as for its antibacterial properties.
Skin cream, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and massage oil are a few of the products in which tea is an ingredient.
Drinking black tea helps prevent deadly clogging of arteries and reverses poor arterial functioning that can trigger heart attacks and strokes, two major new studies have found. In a large 10-year study in the Netherlands, men who consumed the amount of antioxidants called "catechins" found in three cups of black tea were 50% less likely to die of ischemic heart disease, caused by narrowed clogged arteries, than were men who consumed only the catechins in half a cup of tea.
(http://www.teteas.com/shop/tea_info.php).

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[Tea Crisis] [Fair Trade Tea]

Tea Crisis

Like other world commodities such as coffee and cocoa, the price of tea in real terms has dropped by over 40% between 1970 and 1998.

To compensate for the loss of revenue, the producer countries, which depend on foreign income, try to export more and this simply exacerbates the problem!

The production of tea has increased from about 1.1 million tonnes in 1960 to 3.2 million tonnes in 2004.

Like many other commodity markets, the tea industry is highly concentrated in the hands of a very few firms. The major players in the tea industry are Unilever, Hillsdown Holdings, Allied Lyons, the Co-operative Wholesale Society, James Finlay and Associated British Foods.

The concentration of the industry is such that the top three firms have a 60% share of the market in the UK, 9% in France, 67% in Germany and 66% in Italy.

These trans-national companies wield a great deal of influence on the supply and demand of tea. By vertical integration - owning tea bushes to tea bags and everything in between, it gives them ample scope to manipulate the market, that is, buy at the cheapest prices and maximize their profits. Ultimately it is the plantation workers and the environment that pay for this exploitation.

The living and working conditions of the plantation workers varies from region to region, but by and large it is poor:

The wages of tea plantation workers is often below the national average.
There is a high incidence of medical problems faced by plantation workers as they are exposed to large amounts of pesticides like DDT, which are banned in the consumer countries but freely used in the developing countries.
A very large number of children work in the plantations alongside their parents, as they rarely have access to schooling. And without schooling there is little hope that the children will do anything else but follow in the footsteps of their parents.

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Fair Trade Tea

Fair Trade tea has been available since 1994. The international Fair Trade Labelling Organization (FLO) defines the standards for fair trade certification in the tea industry.

Tea certification is an exception as most tea is grown on large plantations. Instead of a minimum price to the producer, a premium is paid to what is called the "Joint Body" of each tea plantation. The Joint Body is comprised of members of the workers/unions and the Joint Body determines how the money is spent with input from FLO.

According to FLO, there are 67 FLO certified producers (China, Eqypt, India, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam)

The market for certified Fair Trade tea totaled 2,615 metric tons in 2005 an increase of 33% over the previous year.

In Canada the sales of certified Fair Trade tea increased from 1.92 metric tons in 2001 to 13.6 metric tons in 2005.

(Source: http://www.transfair.ca/en/mediaresearchers/stats/)

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	Home › Products › Tea Tea \| SOFA \| Like other world commodities such as coffee and cocoa, the price of tea in real terms has dropped by over 40% between 1970 and 1998. To compensate for the loss of revenue, the producer countries, which depend on foreign income, try to export more and this simply exacerbates the problem! Tea Facts Tea is the world's second most popular drink next to water! Tea originated in China around 2700 BC when the leaves of a (tea) bush - (native to south western China) were discovered to have a wonderful taste when infused in water. There are three types of tea classification: Black tea - fermented after plucking Green tea - unfermented Oolong - Semi Fermented Tea became a popular drink amongst the British upper classes in the seventeenth century. Later tea was introduced for production into the British colonies such as India, Sri Lanka and Kenya. Today, India and China are the largest producers and consumers of tea. India, China, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Indonesia account for over 75% of the tea exports in the world. Unlike coffee and cocoa, most of the tea is grown in large plantations and millions of hired plantation workers live in the plantations. The exception is Kenya where 60% of the tea produced is from small-scale farmers. In addition to the food industry, tea has recently is being used by the pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies for its vitamin and fluoride content, as well as for its antibacterial properties. Skin cream, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and massage oil are a few of the products in which tea is an ingredient. Drinking black tea helps prevent deadly clogging of arteries and reverses poor arterial functioning that can trigger heart attacks and strokes, two major new studies have found. In a large 10-year study in the Netherlands, men who consumed the amount of antioxidants called "catechins" found in three cups of black tea were 50% less likely to die of ischemic heart disease, caused by narrowed clogged arteries, than were men who consumed only the catechins in half a cup of tea. (http://www.teteas.com/shop/tea_info.php). [Back to Top] Want to learn more? [Tea Crisis] [Fair Trade Tea] Tea Crisis Like other world commodities such as coffee and cocoa, the price of tea in real terms has dropped by over 40% between 1970 and 1998. To compensate for the loss of revenue, the producer countries, which depend on foreign income, try to export more and this simply exacerbates the problem! The production of tea has increased from about 1.1 million tonnes in 1960 to 3.2 million tonnes in 2004. Like many other commodity markets, the tea industry is highly concentrated in the hands of a very few firms. The major players in the tea industry are Unilever, Hillsdown Holdings, Allied Lyons, the Co-operative Wholesale Society, James Finlay and Associated British Foods. The concentration of the industry is such that the top three firms have a 60% share of the market in the UK, 9% in France, 67% in Germany and 66% in Italy. These trans-national companies wield a great deal of influence on the supply and demand of tea. By vertical integration - owning tea bushes to tea bags and everything in between, it gives them ample scope to manipulate the market, that is, buy at the cheapest prices and maximize their profits. Ultimately it is the plantation workers and the environment that pay for this exploitation. The living and working conditions of the plantation workers varies from region to region, but by and large it is poor: The wages of tea plantation workers is often below the national average. There is a high incidence of medical problems faced by plantation workers as they are exposed to large amounts of pesticides like DDT, which are banned in the consumer countries but freely used in the developing countries. A very large number of children work in the plantations alongside their parents, as they rarely have access to schooling. And without schooling there is little hope that the children will do anything else but follow in the footsteps of their parents. [Back to Top] Fair Trade Tea Fair Trade tea has been available since 1994. The international Fair Trade Labelling Organization (FLO) defines the standards for fair trade certification in the tea industry. Tea certification is an exception as most tea is grown on large plantations. Instead of a minimum price to the producer, a premium is paid to what is called the "Joint Body" of each tea plantation. The Joint Body is comprised of members of the workers/unions and the Joint Body determines how the money is spent with input from FLO. According to FLO, there are 67 FLO certified producers (China, Eqypt, India, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam) The market for certified Fair Trade tea totaled 2,615 metric tons in 2005 an increase of 33% over the previous year. In Canada the sales of certified Fair Trade tea increased from 1.92 metric tons in 2001 to 13.6 metric tons in 2005. (Source: http://www.transfair.ca/en/mediaresearchers/stats/) \| SOFA \| [Back to Top]
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