Tea trade improves at Dubai Commodities CentreLast year proved to be pretty tasty for the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Tea Centre.
The centre doubled the amount of tea handled compared to 2012, with the total trade volume of tea through Dubai increasing by 29 per cent to 129,000 tonnes. The value of the tea also increased, by 34 per cent to $463 million in 2013 compared to the year before.
"Dubai has quickly emerged as one of the leading global hubs for the tea trade," said Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman of DMCC, which is based in JLT. The UAE is the largest re-exporter of tea globally, with more than 60 per cent of the world's market share.
And Sanjeev Dutta, the director of the Tea Centre, reckons 2014 will taste even better. He said: "The DMCC Tea Centre aims to enhance the value of goods as it moves though the supply chain from the growers' plants to the consumers' cups, and to support our members throughout the process."
Dutta added: "This year we are focused on diversifying our product lines to include speciality teas of varied flavours." He said that in 2013 about 13 million kilogrammes of tea were handled at the hub - a volume that made it a record year.
"That figure is only expected to grow further this year," added Dutta. He said: "A big focus for the DMCC Tea Centre this year is to work with industry leaders to centralise their procurement and distribution operations out of Dubai.
"If we achieve this, we would expect a five or even seven-fold growth in the bulk volume handled through the tea centre by the end of 2014."
The world Tea Council estimates that there are about 1,500 varieties of tea. The council also claims tea contains "at least" half the amount of caffeine found in coffee. China leads the way in terms of worldwide tea production - with a total of 1.85 million tonnes in 2013. India is second, producing 1.2 million tonnes last year. But who is the largest per capita tea drinking nation on earth? The Republic of Ireland.
DMCC is to host the fifth Global Dubai Tea Forum from April 8 - 10 at the Sofitel Dubai hotel on the Palm Jumeirah. Bin Sulayem said: "It is a prosperous time for tea with exciting opportunities for those who seek them."
© 7Days 2014
