STiR coffee and tea magazine

34 STiR coffee and tea | 2024 Issue 5 (October / November) Ethical Tea Partnership's Thomas Franks writes that ETP studied Sri Lanka's tea industry and concluded, "The tea industry faces chronic labor shortages as workers migrate to urban areas for better opportunities. This has created a vacuum in the availability of skilled labor for tea picking. Workers, particularly those in tea estates, often face poor working conditions, leading to a lack of incentive to stay in the industry." Enriching a Lifestyle and a Livelihood Convention co-chairman Anil Cooke, managing director at Asia Siyaka Com- modities, and Ganesh Deivanayagam, executive chairman at Eswaran Broth- ers Exports and chairman of the Tea Exporters Association, organized the program to glean insights for enriching the lifestyle and livelihood of tea stakeholders. Twin themes guided the convention presentations: sustainable production emphasizing tea quality and boosting value addition. Futurists, pragmatists, and policymakers stimulated constructive conversations among the 50 speak- ers and panelists who addressed an international audience of tea professionals numbering 750. Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Niraj de Mel told STiR, "The double bar- rel convention theme gave the right start, leading to "Fair Pay for Tea work- ers" and "Climate Change" dominating the two-day conference. I believe these are the most pressing issues facing the tea-producing nations. The sur- vival and sustainability of our beloved tea industry largely depend on how we astutely handle these crucial areas. Every tea-producing nation is challenged with these two factors, which, if not dealt with correctly now, can affect the whole tea marketing world." Global Trends Impacting Tea Presentations addressed climate change, rising production costs, global com- petition, declining tea prices, marketing strategies, online sales, sustainable supply chains, and consumer preferences. Attendees also got a glimpse of the future. Ganaka Herath, managing partner at McKinsey & Co. Sri Lanka, ex- plained that global trends that have proven true for decades may shift. The world is becoming multipolar. The greater share of material capability remains with US-aligned nations, but that total is declining from 60% as China and its allies approach 40%. The previous focus on global trade has shifted to- ward regions, and political polarization is evident worldwide. "Tea is on the cusp of a new era" marked by investment in transversal technologies such as clean energy, cloud computing, advanced con- nectivity, sustainable consumption, bioengineer- ing, and enhanced mobility that promises uncon- strained growth," he said. "How will technology, institutions, and geo- politics interact?" he asked. Sri Lanka has a Plan Five-year plans focusing on increased tea produc- tion are standard. In 2020, Sri Lanka became the world's first tea origin to adopt an industry-led road map that shifts the focus from ever-increasing output to making "Sri Lanka the world's foremost producer of high-quality, sustainable tea." Cooke, the lead draftsman of the road map, said a globally accepted National Sustainability Standard for Ceylon Tea is a critical milestone in strengthening the Sri Lankan tea sector. Cooke's presentation updated attendees on the progress of the ambitious policy and strategic initiatives that will result in certification by the IS- EAL (International Social & Environmental Ac- creditation & Labeling) Alliance. He said a draft sustainability code has been submitted, and public comments are underway. The code will be ready by October, and the certification process will follow. Pilot audits are expected to be complete in De- cember, and a formal assessment will be submitted to the ISEAL Alliance in the spring of 2025. "The standard will also cover developing and implementing a regenerative agriculture model to promote low-carbon tea production. The multi- faceted approach will involve conducting a robust lifecycle analysis," he said. "The fundamental difference between the Ceylon Tea Road Map and any other initiative is that the Ceylon Tea Traders Association [CTTA] has set itself the goal to enable and drive its vision for the industry and the country in the targeted time frame," Cooke explained. The road map is "dynamic and responds to change when anticipated or takes place in the mi- cro and macro environment," he said. Cooke writes that tea is a mature sector essen- tial to the nation's livelihood. He says adding value to Ceylon tea is critical. "It was an extraordinary and unprecedented gathering of leaders of the tea industry value chain from across the world," said Cooke. "We delved deep into some hard truths that had to be faced at this critical moment in the world of tea." Draft Sustainability Code July 2024 Ceylon Tea Sustainability Code Roadmap Public comments on the draft ISEAL Alliance (International Social & Environmental Accreditation & Labelling) CERTIFICATION PROCESS BEGINS Assurance system is fully operational November 2024 ISEAL ALLIANCE ACCREDITATION PROCESS BEGINS Formal assessment submission to ISEAL Alliance Q22025 ISEAL COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP Q22025 FINAL CODE The Code ready to be offered for certification October 2024 CERTIFICATES ISSUED Pilot audits completed December 2024

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