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SINGAPORE: Global tea imports rose 1.5 per cent last year, helped by rising US demand for the fragrant leaves, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said. Global net tea imports reached 1.42 million metric tons in 2004, the Rome-based organization said. The U.S. bought 99,000 tons, 5.3 per cent more than in 2003. That's more than double the growth in the European Union, where imports rose 2.4 per cent to 215,000 tons. Rising consumption of the beverage helped buoy tea prices ended the year 11 per cent higher at $ 1.73, the organisation said. Kenya and Sri Lanka are the world's biggest tea suppliers. Unilever's Lipton, Tata Tea Ltd., which owns the Tetley brand, and Associated British Foods's Twinings business are the world's top suppliers of the beverage. In response to increased demand, global tea production rose 2 per cent to an estimated 3.2 million tons, it said. ``The expansion in production was due mainly to the increases recorded in Turkey, China, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Indonesia,'' the organization said. ``The growth in output from these countries more than offset declines in other major producing countries, including India and Bangladesh.'' China's production approached 800,000 tons last year, helped by government policies to promote output, the FAO said. In Sri Lanka, production increased by 1.3 per cent to 309,000 tons in 2004, reflecting the recovery from crop losses after devastating floods in low-grown tea areas in 2003, it said. Indonesian production rose 1.2 per cent to 170,000 tons and output in Turkey jumped 32 per cent to 205,500 tons as farmers collected more leaves from their trees. Tea production in Kenya increased by more than 11 per cent to 328,000 tons because of improved weather conditions in most growing regions and the expansion in processing capacity, the FAO said. In India, production declined by 4.3 per cent to about 820,200 tons because of unfavourable weather conditions and the closure of as many as 70 tea gardens in the state northeastern state of Assam, according to the FAO. Source: www.economictimes.com Aug 05, 05 |
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