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Future of tea and coffee depends on networking

Monday March 18 2019
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A small-scale tea farmer. The future of the tea and coffee sectors globally now depends largely on the use of the latest technology and cost effective processing. PHOTO | NMG

By JAMES ANYANZWA

The future of the tea and coffee sectors globally now depends largely on the use of the latest technology and cost effective processing.

Players in the tea and coffee sectors are scheduled to meet in India in November to discuss the future of these cash crops at the 7th edition of World Tea Coffee Expo (WTCE).

The WTCE identifies market trends, global drivers, challenges, constraints, threats and investment opportunities in tea and coffee market.

The event is expected to showcase innovative tea and coffee brands, machinery, equipment, packaging, technologies and vending solutions.

It is argued that the adoption of e-commerce and modernisation of existing production and processing facilities in the tea and coffee subsectors would also boost the performance of the crops.

The global ready-to-drink (RTD) tea and coffee market is continuing to expand and likely to grow at an estimated 9 per cent through 2022, with major contribution coming from rapidly expanding organised retail chains offering variety of products in innovative and user-friendly packaging.

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South Asia has seen a considerable upsurge in production of tea and coffee due to increased investment in modernisation and upgradation of facilities and overall consumption.

The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing market for RTD tea and coffee, with India rapidly becoming a global hub for the two products. The country’s tea and coffee market is one of the largest in world in terms of production, consumption and growth prospects.

In recent times, a host of regional players have initiated national expansion strategies which are supplemented by networking events like WTCE that enabling them to find bulk buyers, appoint distributors and agents and create overall branding with smaller marketing budgets.

For small farmers, WTCE offers a perfect platform to engage larger players and network with business associates.

International companies have found WTCE as the definite platform for expanding their activities across India. WTCE offers huge potential for appointing distributors, bulk orders, joint ventures, franchising, networking, knowledge-sharing and meetings with government officials.

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