SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — The North American Tea Conference annually hosts an Industry Breakfast to consider difficult issues by engaging stakeholders from all sectors of the supply chain in a Q & A session.

Organizer John Snell with Mother Parkers Coffee & Tea writes “this year was exceptional with the various representations from all sectors, including the two largest global tea producers and significant branded and private label packers; pepper this group with a liberal smattering of importers, affiliated trades, Tea Boards and Associations and you have a veritable bouquet of invested industry grey matter.”

“No subject is taboo with everything from labor, legislation and competing land use in the dock. The convivial atmosphere of the tea industry is unique and enables honest debate around these tough issues and I quietly applaud the individual collective to keep the needs of those working in tea at the fore, despite the balance book imperatives of modern business,” reports Snell.

What follows are three of the six questions posed. Each links to a discussion thread. The more who share their opinions on these topics the better. In a few months Tea Biz will summarize the main points and share this with the Tea 2030 project on the Future of Tea.

Question No. 4

North America, like other consuming countries, has constructed many positive release gateways to imports, in order to protect the consumer. The latest is the FSMA offshore Supplier requirements. Is this screening of the food supply chain relevant and what are the ramifications for Producers, Importers and Packers that do not exist within GFSI standards today.

Question No. 5

Given the incredible success that the Tea Association of the US and Canada have had, with respect to addressing the lack of manageable import MRLs (maximum residue levels) for tea, we may have 30 within 5 years. If this is the case, we can Authorities to start applying a little more pressure on imports to live up to these standards. Are we confident that Production will be able to live within these MRLs or is the specter of yet another set of policed benchmarks a call for action for Producers. Should the collective technical committees from all Origins, finally, be interested in pushing for a Harmonized system and which is the right international vehicle for this action?

Question No. 6

If market economics need to prevail then do we need to assess the mechanisms for selling tea in order to increase interest and liquidity?

Is there enough volume to consider a Futures Exchange which could be based on soluble solid content, a scientific parameter rather than a more subjective quality standard, more in line with extract buyers who are used to having a hedging mechanism to work with?

What are the pros and cons for such a mechanism?

Related Posts:
The Future of Tea (Questions 1-3)
Tea in the Triangle: Plotting Tea’s Future

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — MGVK Bhanu, chairman of the India Tea Board, on Tuesday hosted a calypso evening for 150 tea executives vested in the North American market.

The three-day North American Tea Conference, jointly sponsored by the Tea Association of the USA and the Tea Association of Canada, is focused on the future of tea. As is tradition, business sessions and presentations follow festivities, but the topic spurred serious conversation from the onset.

Global demand is steady with a pronounced shift to higher-quality tea as the growing middle class in tea lands exerts its buying power. However, producers are confronting many challenges including a temporary glut of CTC grade tea.

Bhanu led a delegation of tea producers that spanned his native land. Firms include Rossell, Kanan Devan Hills, Balaji Agro and McLeod Russel India. The East Indians are upbeat as production will top 1 billion kilos with strong exports and a welcoming North American retail market.

Delegations from Africa, Japan, China and Sri Lanka welcome the upward trajectory of specialty tea but voiced concerns mainly centered on stabilizing prices for commodity tea. Sugar, cocoa, coffee and rubber have all seen very significant price increases in the past five years, typically doubling while the price of commodity tea has risen 40 percent. Growers need additional money to invest in modernization of processing equipment and automation where practical.

Watch for coverage later this week as speakers Anne-Marie Brouder of the Forum for the Future discuss sustainability and Nigel Melican addresses mechanical harvesting. Rick Winslow with Nielsen is presenting a North American Tea Review that will offer consumer insights and Robert Nelson, who presides over the National Coffee Association will describe the remarkable impact of single serve on coffee retail.

Conference attendees represent the entire length of the supply chain including transport and storage, logistics and financing, harvesting and processing machinery and trading services.

Representatives from European-based dynamos including Martin Bauer, Ahlstrom FiberComposites, Wollenhaupt and Glatfelter mingled with executives from the multinational brands including Unilever (Lipton), Tata, Finlays, Snapple Group, Ito En and Nestle.

Specialty tea blenders and importers include QTrade Tea & Herbs, Henry P. Thomson, Sandbar Trading (BW Cooper) ; Haelssen & Lyon, Van Rees (North America) and S&D Coffee.

Retailers Harney & Sons report strong sales growth and the construction of a new bottling plant adjacent to their Connecticut headquarters. The Canadian Tea Association, meeting at breakfast session on consumer enthusiasm for tea once again found that sales of specialty teas once again outpaced commodity tea in that country where 54% of the population drinks tea at least once a week. Association members can review the entire presentation during a webcast in the next few weeks, said President Louise Roberge.