Tea Board to sign MOU with Chinese firm to market Ceylon tea

Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) has been granted Cabinet approval to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Fujian Star China International Trade Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Bennie Tea Industry Company Limited, for the marketing of pure Ceylon tea via both online and offline channels in China, which includes developing a 5G online marketing platform.

“The company has agreed under the said memorandum of understanding to develop a 5G online marketing platform that caters to the network of storing and handing over in China for promoting and marketing Sri Lanka Tea Logo online apart from distributing Sri Lankan tea in China,” the Government Information Department revealed yesterday.

The Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved the proposal presented by Minister of Plantation, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana. Bennie Tea Industry Company is a leading high quality tea manufacturing and R&D service outfit with an extensive network in China as well as in South East Asia. It is also engaged in tea import and export trade as well in e- commerce mainly in clearances. In a similar agreement with Kenya’s tea authorities lastyear, Benny Tea Industry Company limited agreed to warehouse and market Kenyan purple tea through an electronic trading platform. In addition, it also agreed to provide machinery and expertise to five Kenyan purple tea processing factories.

China is currently the second fastest growing market for Ceylon tea behind Chile. It became the fifth largest importer of Ceylon tea in the eleven months of 2020, recording 15.31 percent year-on-year growth to12.25m/kgs. China is also the most improved market for Ceylon tea over the past decade.

China’s tea consumption is estimated to be expanding by 10 percent per annum and black tea has been gaining traction, particularly among the younger generation.