Get Ready for a Shift in Sustainable Packaging
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With improvements in the fields and in the manufacturing process, and innovations in the supply chain, all under the guidance of the UN’s SDGs, tea producers hope to win the consumers’ consent to pay a better price for such sustainable and flavourful cups. By Barbara Dufrêne.
Ten years ago – September 2015 – the United Nations General Assembly approved the resolution Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This has allowed the current three pillars approach to crystallize with the overlapping spheres of social, economic and environmental development, each sphere containing a set of sustainable development goals — SDGs.
There are seventeen SDGs in total, ranging from number 1: no poverty and 2: zero hunger to number 4: quality education and 5: gender equality to number 13: climate preserving action, and finally to number 17: partnerships to achieve these goals. The tea economy offers an excellent example of significant achievements towards reaching the most tea relevant SDGs, and which have been implemented during the recent years.
Tea grown in the Far Eastern origin-countries has been a smallholder crop for centuries before the big industrial plantations were introduced during the later 20th century, mainly in colonial areas and for mass market cups. A perennial and highly resilient plant, which can be harvested several times during the crop cycle, tea can provide a regular income and is listed as poverty relief agricultural crop that maintains the rural populations on the lands. These lands are indeed often very remote and very hilly areas, far from public transportation and urban agglomerations, which means that these tea smallholder communities require special care. The framework of the sustainability approach and the set of SDGs provide the necessary incentives, which have been and continue to be picked up by the various governments and private stakeholders in the world’s tea-producing countries.
Below is feedback from some of the various stakeholders, which demonstrates that supporting and implementing the relevant SDGs is the best way to growth and cost-covering revenue in the tea industry.
China, the Homeland of Tea
Being the world’s number one tea producer with 53.1 percent of the 2024 world tea production according to the latest International Tea Committee (ITC) data, the tea sector plays a significant role within China’s agricultural output, with the damages done by the ‘cultural revolution’ fully repaired over the years. In November 2012, the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party decided that tea production would be designated as the strategic tool for the revival of an important number of poor rural areas to gradually eradicate poverty. As target consumers, these selected 23 provinces and five autonomous areas contained a population of over 600 million tea drinkers. The tea growers were to benefit from financial support and also research and logistics, supplied by the local municipalities; an operational program of actions was drawn up for establishing quality standards, brand building, digital networking and more with the goal to eradicate the endemic poverty and make the local tea cultivation into a source of prosperity.
In her preliminary report, Katrin Rougeventre, a highly renowned French tea expert who currently conducts a sustainability survey for China’s teas, first focused on Anhui Province, world famous for growing the highly praised Keemun black tea and several other premium origin teas. Although being a major tea exporter for many years, the local tea communities have remained poor and struggling, mainly because of landscape problems in this mountainous province that is secluded and crossed by huge rivers, which often flood and destroy the lands. It has taken time and effort to build six dams and retention basins, improving infrastructure and generating energy. Sticking to its 2012 remit, the government has provided funding to improve the working conditions in the stabilised tea growing areas all through Anhui, with a focus on the premium origin terroirs. This has led to tangible results being achieved, more people involved in tea and for a higher average income, hence the hope for prosperity is on its way.
Many more and different actions have been undertaken in the other 22 selected tea provinces, where production is also thriving. With such encouraging results and progress it is important to underline that branded quality teas get financial promotion support so that despite strong competition by Western style coffee, domestic tea consumption continues to grow steadily. Green tea exports to countries remain stable whilst black tea exports are offset by black tea imports from mainly India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and East Africa, which demonstrates that China’s continued tea production increase is readily adsorbed by the home market and not the root cause of the unsatisfactory auction price levels that result from the longstanding global oversupply situation.
India, the World’s Second Largest Tea Producer
It was during the colonial time that tea was introduced to India from China and has prospered rapidly in several regions spreading from the Himalayan slopes down to the Southern hills. There are large private plantations on one side and many smallholder cooperatives on the other. The tea villages used to be poor and the landlords, who are in charge of their village people’s education and healthcare, struggle with this heavy burden. The regional governments are aware of the need to implement follow up for the SDGs and improvements are on the way but take time to materialise. However, there are the forerunners, who take the initiative to invite volunteers from the cities and establish schools and child care, teach composting for the village farm food crops, and create awareness for the need to actively preserve the surrounding natural environment and its wild life. Some years before the UN resolution in 2015, Darjeeling’s Rajah Bannerjee, former owner of the famous Makaibari Tea Estate decided to open a local primary school and to allow women to become the plucking team leader and head of plucking quality control, advocating an unheard of gender equality in the fields. More progress is under way – the national government together with the teaboard of India are fully aware of the challenges ahead – but with global over supply hampering good auction prices, there is a lack of available funds.
Malawi is Adapting and Diversifying
Malawi is the number three East African tea producer after Kenya and Uganda. South of the equator the three tea districts of Malawi produce an annual average output of 45,000 metric tonnes of tea, mainly CTC black teas that are sold in the Limbe auction.
Private estates are also offering specialty leaf teas, such as Satemwa Tea Estate in the Shire Mountain range, which was founded some 100 years ago by the current owner’s grandfather, McClean Kay. Wouter Verelst, who is in charge of Satemwa’s direct trade office in Belgium, shared that climate change is already significantly impacting tea production with erratic weather patterns, and in a densely populated country you cannot move the fields further but have to cope and adapt. “Given the effects of climate change as well as shifts in consumer behaviour worldwide, we must rely on research to ensure that the Malawian and regional tea industry remain sustainable. Science-based knowledge allows [us] to make informed choices by taking into account the local area, planning irrigation, choose appropriate material for replanting, namely endemic Malawian cultivars that are pest and drought resistant,” he said.
Satemwa has also implemented a regenerative organic tea project for over 10 percent of the estate’s hectarage and all efforts tend to satisfy their longstanding direct trade buyers by diversifying to offer specialty, organic and other premium teas to negotiate sustainable prices and remain in tea. Because of the saturated commodity tea market, the ongoing price slump and crisis, other tea estates are considering switching crops, and planting macadamia nuts instead of tea. Focusing more on sustainability is key for the Malawi tea producers.
Innovating Tea Transport by Sailing Vessel
A pioneer in organic, ethical, biodynamic and fairtrade teas, herbals and spices for 30 years, Arlette Rohmer, the founder of Jardins de Gaïa, has launched a new transport mode by chartering a cargo sailing vessel. The Artemis carried 4.5 metric tonnes of fine teas, harvested by Vietnam’s Bin Lien Cooperative’s smallholders, from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Le Havre, France, where the ship arrived on 14 December 2024, after having completed freight volume with coffees loaded in La Reunion (France) and in Brazil. This travel on the sea for 45 days and the on transport from the arrival port to the factory in Eastern France by river barge reduced the carbon footprint by 90 percent. Truly proud and satisfied with this innovative transport mode, Cassandre Maury, the company’s (??) CEO, announced that further sailing vessel routes will be introduced in 2025/25 for tea, herbals and spices, namely with South America as destination. Jardins de Gaïa was rewarded for this innovative achievement with the national Responsible action for Social and Environment trophy in 2024.
Looking Forward
With 2030 on the horizon, weather patterns becoming worse, political conflicts weighing down everybody’s mood, stressful city lives, and dire working days in the fields, tea is in the limelight as an energy boosting and hydrating cup, which is high in antioxidants, soothing, and easy to share. It is becoming a must-have cup with its endless choice in colour and flavour, and because consumers are pleased to know that the goodness of the cup meets the SDGs. Telling this important story as many times as possible will be a positive moment for all the stakeholders, from the bush to the cup.
Barbara Dufrêne is the former Secretary General of the European Tea Committee and editor of La Nouvelle du Thé. She may be reached at: b-dufrê[email protected].
