International Tea Day 2021, May 21st

 FORUM: Tea: Resilient; Sustainable; Healthy, From Field to Cup. International Tea Day 2021.

Re-emphasizing the call from the Intergovernmental Group on Tea to direct greater efforts towards expanding demand, particularly in tea-producing countries, where per capita consumption is relatively low, and supporting efforts to address the declining per capita consumption in traditional importing countries. Join the conversation on twitter by using the hashtags  #Tea or  #InternationalTeaDay.

CAMPAIGN

1.  Raising awareness of its importance in fighting hunger and poverty.
2. Drinking Tea for its Health benefits

Key messages

• Tea production and processing represent a source of livelihoods for millions of families, including millions in least developed countries.
• Tea export earnings help to finance food import bills, supporting the economies of major tea-producing countries.
• The specific agro-ecological conditions where tea thrives occur in areas which are highly vulnerable to climate change.

• Global trade in 2020 was affected by logistics issues and measures imposed to contain COVID-19.

• Increasing in-home consumption of tea more than offset declining out-of-home consumption in many instances.
• During the first weeks of lockdown, in home tea sales surged, increasing by 75 percent in some consuming countries.
• In order to ensure benefits for both people and the environment, the tea value chain must be sustainable at all stages, from field to cup.

Tea has been with us for a long time. There is evidence that tea was consumed in China 5,000 years ago.Throughout the years, the aroma of their millenary tea varieties has made its way into the hearts and minds of many tea drinkers around the world, one leaf at a time.

Tea per capita consumption increased by 2.8 percent per year over the last decade.

Tea consumption can bring health benefits and wellness due to the beverage's anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and weight loss effects. It also has cultural significance in many societies.

Tea production and trade contribute to livelohoods; export earnings food security and incomes 

Moreover, there is an urgent need to raise public awareness of the importance of tea for rural development and sustainable livelihoods and to improve the tea value chain to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Tea thrives in bery specific agro-ecological conditions and in certain environments which today are often impacted by climate change.

Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns, with more floods and droughts, are already affecting yields, tea product quality and prices, lowering incomes and threatening rural livelihoods. These climate changes are expected to intensify, calling for urgent adaptation measures. In parallel, there is a growing recognition of the need to contribute to climate change mitigation, by reducing carbon emissions from tea production and processing.

Report of the Working Group on Climate Change

The FAO Intergovernmental group on tea leads multilateral efforts to support the world tea economy.

The United Nations General Assembly decided to designate 21 May as International Tea Day in order to promote and foster collective actions in favour of the sustainable production and consumption of tea.