STiR coffee and tea magazine

24 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 6, 2019 (December / January 2020) 3 6 MARCH 2020 TO SINGAPORE EXPO FHA-HoReCa SPECIALITY COFFEE & TEA DISCOVER THE PERFECT BREW AT SEGMENT Source for coffee and tea supplies from renowned and emerging international brands that will be part of a strong line-up of over 2,000 exhibitors from 70 countries / regions Meet niche coffee roasters at Roasters' Corner Catch top baristas showcase their best at the Barista Super Duo Challenge and Latte Art Showdown Network with over 48,000 industry professionals Organiser Join us on Food&HotelAsia #FHA Pre-register your visit at www.fhaHoReCa.com/pre-register > > > > Since 1964, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry provided a grant in aid to Tocklai. This was not a binding agree- ment or formal budget but a memo of understanding. The accumulated shortfall in payments reached $5 million by 2017. This has meant that insurance, pension and severance pay obligations have not been met. The same financial break- downs have affected staffing, greatly reduced scientific programs and created internal political strains between the Assam field research stations and Tocklai's Kolkata office in the contest for increasingly scarce resources. Industry and public sector groups have formed to investigated how to preserve Tocklai. Meanwhile, labor strikes escalate. They began in 2012 with a stoppage by research associates. In 2017, 230 employees struck over delays in implementing a pay agreement. Most recently, industrial action has extended to a series of work stoppages by scientists, workers, and scholars joined by retirees and former officials. While all research, development and services are carried out at Tocklai, resources are largely controlled and preserved by the Kolkata headquarters. The future of Tocklai is uncertain and its role as one of the pioneers of tea research is probably over. One major direction sponsored by the Assam government is for it to become a hotel complex. It has a very large 40-acre campus, with heritage buildings, laboratories, workshop, tea factory, and bungalows. The heritage buildings in the campus are now used as tea research laboratories. There is an 88-year-old Tocklai Guest House which was once used to accommodate British tea planters. Meanwhile, the need for first-rate sustained research increases as India's farmers face so many challenges: climate change, export competition, yields, labor shortages and strife, and bio-management. RUSSIA Report on World's #2 Tea Market Russia is the world's second largest tea importer, behind Pakistan and ahead of the US. It sets the competitive agenda for international competitors in exports of commodity black tea, especially in driving prices down. More than 90% of the population are daily tea drinkers. Tea accounts for two-thirds of hot beverages. Turkey, Ireland, and the UK, the top three consuming nations measured in kilos per capita with Russia in fourth place, have all evolved deep-rooted historical tea cultures. It's unclear if Russia, which contrasts strongly with the other large markets, will follow the same global trends in such areas as shifts to green tea, wellness and functional teas, premiumization, and millennials' seeking out variety, new flavors, and different tea experiences. One constraint has been economic. Imports and consumption are strongly price driven. The financial crises of the 1999-2000 period wiped out much of the reputation and revenue of Nilgiri in Southern India. It had responded aggressively to the opportunity of the opening of Russia by lowering quality to increase yield and lower unit price. When Russian consumers cut back demand, exports fell substantially and quickly. Many farms closed. India overtook Sri Lanka as the dominant

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