UAE is world’s leading re-exporter of tea

The UAE is the world’s No.1 re-exporter of tea, according to a report published on Monday by the Ministry of Foreign Trade, on the occasion of the "International Coffee and Tea Festival" which is scheduled to begin in Dubai on October 30.

The study found that during the past five years (2007 - 2012), the UAE was the world's foremost re-exporter of tea, with a 60 per cent share of the world's tea re-export market, its UAE share being valued at around $48 million in 2011.

The study, which was conducted by economic adviser Dr Abdel Hamid Radwan, under the supervision of Dr Mattar Ahmed, head of the Analysis and Trade Information Department, said the UAE is among the world's top five tea importers, occupying second place from 2007 - 2011, with the exception of 2009, when it ranked in the 3rd place after Britain.

The study said the UAE’s tea imports have risen by around 50 per cent during the same period, from $324 million in 2007 to $485 million in 2011, and that the country's share of total global tea imports has also grown from 8.3 per cent in 2007 to 9.4 per cent in 2011.

The study identified Sri Lanka as the UAE's top supplier of tea, providing the UAE with around 20 per cent of its tea imports from 2010 - 2011. The South Asian island state was followed by India, with an 8 per cent share of the UAE's tea imports during the same period. However, both countries' combined share declined in favour of other world countries from 30 per cent in 2010 to 26 per cent in 2011.

It also revealed that the UAE's tea exports were around $ 5.7 million in 2011 - up by 68 per cent from 2010 - while re-exports of the commodity decreased by 14 per cent during the same period, negatively affecting total exports with a 10 per cent decline. The study showed that nearly 85 per cent of all UAE re-exports were to two main destinations, 81 per cent going to Iran and 4 per cent to Oman in 2011, calling for the exploration of new markets.

The study also revealed that the global tea imports were $5,704 million in 2011, up by 37 per cent from 2010, with Russia being the foremost importer of tea during 2007 - 2011, importing $625 million worth of tea in 2011 (up by 11 per cent from 2010). The UAE came in the second place during the same period - with the exception of 2009 when it came in third place after Britain.

The study also revealed that global tea exports in 2011 were around $6,349 million, up by 3 per cent from 2010, registering however a 5 per cent decrease in quantity. During the last five years (2007 - 2011), Sri Lanka was that the world's foremost tea exporter, with a 22 per cent share of the commodity's global exports, followed by Kenya (with an 18 per cent share).

The world's 5 top tea exporters together hold a 70 per cent share of the world's tea export market.

The study added that the global tea re-exports were $99 million in 2011, down by 12 per cent in 2010, with a 15 per cent decline in quantity during the same period. This may be attributed to the international economic ramifications of the EU crisis. During the past five years, the UAE was the world's foremost tea re-exporter, holding a 60 per cent share of the tea re-export market from 2007 - 2011.

It also showed that the global re-exports of coffee were $349 million in 2011, with the USA holding the biggest share in this market ($238 million), while the UAE came in fifth place in this regard with $6.2 million in coffee re-exports at a growth rate of 32 per cent from 2010 - 2011.

The study pointed out that the tea, in its raw form, requires storage and packaging services, creating a role for a number of countries as value adding intermediaries between production and consumption centers. The UAE, through the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) - established in 2005 near Dubai's ports - provides global tea producers and importers with all sorts of tea trade enabling facilitations that include a large tea storage facility that is also equipped with the means to mix and package the commodity. It is also home to many tea company offices.

The facility also has many other divisions such as the "tasting unit", which categorises tea arriving to the UAE from 35 Asian and African countries. It is considered one of the world's most important tea re-export industry hubs, storing tea shipments of many countries.


 

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