• The Confederation of Tea Smallholders Will Relocate to India | Iran Tea Imports Plunge by 62% | Economists Describe Stable Soft Commodity Prices in 2024

    The UN FAO IGG Confederation of Tea Smallholders Will Relocate its Headquarters from China to India for the Next Four Years | Iran Tea Imports Plunge by 62% | Economists Forecast Higher but Stable Prices for Beverage Soft Commodities in 2024

    Tea News for the week ending February 9, 2024
    Hear the Headlines | Seven-Minute Tea News Recap
    India Tea News | Aravinda Anantharaman

    Delegates from 44 countries (and 14 official observers) who attended The 25th Session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG Tea) on Jan. 31 expanded the organization’s mandate beyond trade aspects, ratifying initiatives addressing all three dimensions of sustainability – economic, social, and environmental. Peter Goggi, IGG TEA delegate representing the US as President of the Tea Association of the USA, discusses #TeaPower, a new health and wellness campaign, FAO’s ongoing support of smallholders, and the economics of oversupply.

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    Peter Goggi, IGG TEA delegate representing the US as President of the Tea Association of the USA

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    UN FAO IGG Confederation of Tea Smallholders
    UN FAO IGG TEA Confederation of Tea Smallholders

    UN FAO IGG Confederation of Tea Smallholders Relocates to India


    By Dan Bolton

    The headquarters and staff of the Confederation of International Tea Smallholders (CITS) will relocate from China to India for the next four years. Delegates to the 25th Session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG Tea) ratified the decision during their recently concluded three-day session in Guwahati.
    According to IGG Tea, smallholders hold a position of growing importance in the tea sector, where they cultivate 70% of the global acreage under tea. Smallholders pluck 60% of raw tea leaves and produce a sizeable amount of finished tea.

    The announcement notes: “Their vitality and integral role within the tea supply chain cannot be overstated. Solving this sector’s issues is essential for the long-term viability and health of the tea industry, not to mention the farmers and their communities themselves.”

    IGG delegates, one each from 44 producing countries and non-voting officials from 14 countries, praised the Government of India and the Assam government for their significant investment in the development of the small tea growers’ sector, citing the dedicated research and development work at the Tocklai Tea Research Center in Jorhat.

    The federation (CITS) was established in May 2016 by delegates to the 22nd Session of FAO IGG on Tea meeting in Naivasha, Kenya. The federation was envisioned as “a forum for developing policies and solutions to strengthen the global tea smallholder sector by acting as a convener, catalyst, and resource to improve the consistency of tea policymaking on a global level.”

    BIZ INSIGHT – Joydeep Phukan, Secretary of the Tea Research Association at Tocklai and Coordinator of the FAO IGG on Tea for India, told Tea Biz’s Roopak Goswami that “Moving CITS to India will synergize the efforts of federal and state governments as well as the Tea Board of India in bringing the global best practices to small tea growers of India.”

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  • Lunar New Year Boosts Tea Consumption | Nepal Recovers from Currency Crisis | Pakistan’s Tea Imports (Legal and Smuggled) Climb

    Lunar New Year Will Boost Consumption and Tea Travel | Nepal Recovers from Foreign Currency Crisis | Pakistan’s Legal and Smuggled Tea Imports Climb

    Tea News for the week ending February 2, 2024
    Hear the Headlines | Seven-Minute Tea News Recap
    India Tea News | Aravinda Anantharaman

    The Toronto Tea Festival concluded on January 28, marking a turning point in 2024 as the crowd surged from a low of 2,600 in February 2020 to 4,000 attendees – a 25% increase from previous highs. Joining us today to discuss the changing dynamics is Tao Wu, co-founder of Tao Tea Leaf and one of the festival’s key organizers… but first, let’s listen to the excitement ON THE FLOOR at the weekend event.

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    On the Floor at the Toronto Tea Festival | Tao Wu, festival co-founder

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    Lunar New Year
    Lunar New Year is Feb. 10-17

    Lunar New Year to Boost Consumption and Tea Travel


    The New Year that begins Saturday will bring renewed vigor to China’s tea economy as travel experts predict strong sales during the extra-long holiday.
    “A year after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in China, the eight-day Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday is expected to see a major surge in travel and consumption as people head home for family reunions or set off for a week of travel and tourism,” writes China Briefing.

    Last year, Chinese border control agencies recorded 5.2 million inbound and outbound transits, a 4.7-fold increase approaching pre-pandemic totals. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reported 135 million domestic trips. This is roughly in line with the figure seen during the holiday in 2019, according to the administration.

    East Asian cultures celebrating the holiday include Koreans, Vietnamese, Tibetans, and Chinese. The Chinese New Year falls on Saturday, February 10, 2024, beginning the Year of the Dragon—the Wood Dragon.

    The 2024 Spring Festival Holiday Travel Forecast Report, jointly compiled by Baidu Maps and the Highway Science Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport (MOT), forecasts that travel volume over the 2024 holiday will exceed last year by more than 40%, with the busiest day of travel being on the last day of the holiday (February 17) as everyone returns home (departures are more staggered).

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  • Beijing International Tea Expo 2021 Postponed

    The 10th Edition scheduled for Aug. 27-30, 2021 at the Beijing Exhibition Center in Beijing, China has been postponed in a city-wide effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

    Beijing Exhibition Center
    Beijing Exhibition Center

    Beijing International Tea Expo

    During the past nine years organizers of the annual Beijing International Tea Expo have focused on enhancing the marketing and promotion opportunities for select producing regions. To register click here.

    The strong alliances and synergies resulting from this close cooperation with producing regions makes the popular exposition a benchmark in northern China by which other shows are measured. Attendees are highly qualified tea industry professionals and large-volume buyers including international representatives. A diverse show floor that includes every type of tea, plus processing and packaging machinery leads to many transactions and remarkable results.

    The past nine years the Expo was co-organized by Pu’er city in Yunnan province, Xinyang city in Henan province, Lu’an city in Anhui province, Lincang city in Yunnan province, Huangshan city in Anhui province, Zunyi city in Guizhou province, Wuzhou city in Guangxi province, Xianyang city in Shanxi province, and Yiyang city in Hunan province, respectively.

    The expo, which is approved by the Ministry of Commerce in China, is organized by the China Tea Marketing Association and the People’s Government of Xicheng District in Beijing.

    Since 2012 the event has featured more than 3,000 exhibiting companies (90% are first-line brands), more than 1,000 media representatives generated nearly 30 million online searches. Visitors total 620,000, including 220,000 professional buyers. Exhibitors report a total of 7,282 projects, with turnover of RMB 5.9 billion. Tea delegations at the event are from a dozen countries including India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, Italy, and Argentina.

    The expo annually attracts the best-known tea companies and tea brands in China. The 2021 exhibition covers 26,000 sq. meters with 600 companies participating. Brands include Zhejiang Tea Group, Xiangcha Group, Sichuan Tea Group, Dayi Group, Wuyi Star, Zhuyeqing, Zhang Yiyuan and Wu Yutai.

    Education sessions spread tea knowledge and expose attendees to tea culture by showcasing local customs and heritage. A variety of tea cultural activities attract young and fashionable consumers seeking to better understand the tea industry.

    Sessions also cover topics of interest to caterers, resort, and hotels operators, tea preparation and proper use of utensils, advice on selecting and properly utilizing water with an introduction to new style tea beverages. Many cross-border tea events are planned, revealing new trends that drive consumption.

    The Beijing International Tea Expo has it all: popularity, extensive publicity, high standards, strong professionalism, a broad range of exhibition categories, international buyers, and good service.

    Learn more…


    10th Beijing International Tea Expo
    Aug. 27-30, 2021
    Beijing Exhibition Center

    Tickets available at the Exhibition Center Gate. Everyone is welcome with a health code on your phone.

    Directions: Take Subway Line 4 (Beijing Zoo exit) then walk a short distance to the Expo Center: No. 135 Xizhimenwai St., Yicheng District, Beijing

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