Focus on Sri Lanka: ‘Ceylon Tea’ enjoys major share in Saudi market

Sri Lanka has earned its fame globally for its high quality tea. Formerly, a British colony known as Ceylon, this small Indian Ocean island is famed for producing the finest black tea in the world, grown and produced according to uncompromising, traditional methods and standards.
Since the 1880s, ‘Ceylon Tea’ has been the country’s principal and the most famous export. For generations, it formed the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy, and plays a major part, even today, in the country’s fortunes.
The Tea Board is the apex regulatory and administrative body of the Sri Lankan tea industry.
First set up in 1976, it comprises representatives from both private and government bodies involved in the industry, including cultivators and manufacturers, traders, exporters and plantation employees.
The island’s annual tea production is around 320 million kg, which accounts for a sizable percentage of the world tea production.
The annual tea export volume of Sri Lanka is over 315 million kg.
It has a share of 18 percent in the global tea exports market.
In other words, the island’s teas have been developed to cater to the tastes of tea drinkers all around globe.
Tea constitutes nearly 36 percent of Sri Lanka’s exports to Saudi Arabia.
Around,5,000 tons were exported to the Kingdom in 2011.
Tea cultivation is scientifically managed, which leads to the production of the world’s finest fragrant blends with consistency in flavor, aroma and color.
Tea cultivation was established, in Sri Lanka, over a century ago and is now produced year round in the central highlands and southern regions of this beautiful tropical island.
In Saudi Arabia, Sri Lankan tea is a household name and popularly called as ‘Sailan’ which was an ancient name of the island .
This finest blend of tea from Sri Lanka enjoys substantial market share in the Gulf countries also.
Saudi nationals and expatriates alike have realized that the cup of tea that they may have been sipping for years not only has become a trendy habit but also healthy one for that reason.
Tea has really moved into the mainstream of Saudi society.
Years ago, one of the few places to find green tea was in a few Japanese restaurants across the Gulf. Now green or black tea is everywhere; served hot or iced, at chic restaurants, supermarkets or department stores.
The name of the island was changed from Ceylon to Sri Lanka when the country became a Socialist Democratic Republic in 1972, but the name ‘Ceylon Tea’ was retained for its tea. This was because Ceylon Tea has become a quality brand name.
The Sri Lanka Tea Board, apex government body responsible for development and promotion of Ceylon Tea, has taken many steps to ensure that all teas produced and exported from Sri Lanka adhere to the minimum quality standards of ISO 3720.
Ceylon Tea has been recognized as the cleanest tea in the world in terms of pesticide residues by the International Standards Organization.
Currently, many Sri Lankan Tea Manufacturers and exporters have obtained ISO, HACCP and other international certifications to be ahead of others. Fair trade, ethical tea partnership and good manufacturing practices etc. are the other concepts followed by the Sri Lanka Tea Trade to move in to the 21st century.
Referring to the quality of Ceylon tea, a bulletin of Sri Lanka Tea Board says that the unique climatic conditions that prevail in the central highlands of Sri Lanka produces the exquisite high grown Nuwara Eliya and Uva blends, which are renowned for their taste and aroma. Based on the altitude at which it is grown tea is classified as high, medium or low grown teas.
The medium grown teas provide a bold color that is in demand by the consumers in North America.
Lower grown tea plantations produce the leafy grades of tea from the tip of the unopened tea shoot.
Until recently, the tea produced in Sri Lanka was shipped in bulk and repacked in the major tea consuming countries.
But, this island nation now has modern machinery and technology for tea bagging and packing to expeditiously meet the needs of wholesale or retail customers and food service companies in any part of the world.
The authorized government lion symbol of the Sri Lanka Tea Board guarantees that only quality Ceylon tea of specified blends are contained in the package.
The product could be obtained at competitive prices.
The absence of a specific global body to deliberate matters significantly important to the world tea industry has resulted in substantial set-backs to the sector.
This was realized by all major tea producing countries as far back as the 1990s but the dream was never accomplished until recently.
Sri Lanka, the current chair of the FAO/IGG on tea, took the initiative and was greatly instrumental for the formation of a dedicated Association called the International Tea Producers’ Forum at a conference held in Colombo.
Six of the largest tea producing countries, namely, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Malawi, Rwanda and Sri Lanka became founder members of this historic initiative with Iran, China and FAO as observers.
The constitution of the ITPF was ratified by the Ministerial representations from these major tea producing countries who constitute more than 80 percent of the tea production in the world.
A joint communique was signed by the delegates from these countries and Sri Lanka was selected as the Secretariat for the first ever International Tea Producers’ Forum.
It was also decided for the producer member nations to re-convene in Colombo by the month of November 2013 to set up a General Council and an Executive Committee as per the Constitution.
The General Council will be called upon to elect a chairperson and two vice chairpersons and shall hold annual sessions to take forward the initiatives which will be proposed by the ITPF.
With a vision to position tea as the most acceptable, natural and healthy beverage globally and a mission to position this noble drink as the most preferred beverage universally by stimulating its consumption and facilitating generic promotional campaigns to raise the awareness of a healthy life-style, the members of the ITPF is optimistic that all stake-holders of the global tea fraternity will benefit in the future.
Everyday around 300,000 estate workers pluck several million tea leaves by hand.
This is the first step in the manufacturing of quality Ceylon tea.
Only the bud and the two youngest leaves are plucked, for it is only these leaves that have the flavor and aroma. In other parts of the world, plucking is done by machines.
These machines pluck the bud, the young leaf, a lot of coarse leaf and few twigs as well. Coarse leaf and twigs just add bulk and not flavor to the tea.
The plucked tea leaf is then brought to the muster sheds where they are weighed in, and first quality inspection is made.
The leaf is then moved to the factory where they are withered using large blowers.
The next step in the manufacturing process involves cutting the leaves.
This brings out the juices and begins the fermentation process. Fermentation is the critical step. The humidity, temperature and fermentation time has to be well controlled or the flavor is lost.
After fermentation is completed, the leaf is fired, to lock in the flavor, to dry it and to improve the keeping qualities.
Absolutely no preservative or artificial flavoring are added in the manufacture of pure Ceylon tea.
The final step is the separation of the product according the color and the particle size. Here stringent quality control is done and anything that does not measure up to the standards is rejected.
The finished product is shipped in bulk to mainly to Europe, the Middle East, Australia and North America. Only the best tea is exported.
According to new research, sipping a relaxing cup of tea, especially green tea, may provide a number of health benefits. The researches have shown that tea may pack as powerful a punch of health as one serving of many vegetables or fruits.
Tea is enjoyed worldwide because while it is calming it is also reviving and uplifting.
It is also thought that the act of sipping tea in itself has restorative powers.
“If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are heated, tea will cool you. If you are depressed, tea will cheer you and if you are excited, tea will calm you”.