A 15-member Indian tea delegation headed by D Purandeswari, minister of state for commerce and industry, Government of India, participated in a ministerial-level meeting held recently in Colombo, Sri Lanka for establishing the International Tea Producers' Forum.
Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Iran and China were among the other countries that participated in the meeting. The Constitution of the International Tea Producers’ Forum was discussed and the members resolved to adopt it subject to ratification of their respective governments.
Purandeswari stated that the lives of millions of tea workers are at stake and through joint efforts of all tea-producing nations the tea industry becomes sustainable in all aspects and living standards of the tea workers can be further improved.
She also stressed on the aspect of tea research and that it should dwell more on the health benefits of black tea. It was also decided that the International Tea Producers’ Forum will be headquartered at Colombo, Sri Lanka as a transitional arrangement.
P K Bezboruah, additional vice-chairman, Tea Research Association (TRA), attended the meeting as a representative of the body, and J Phukan, secretary, TRA, attended the meeting in the capacity of coordinator, Food and Agriculture Organisation's Inter-governmental Group (FAO IGG) on Tea for India.
