The 20th Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Tea of the Food and Agriculture Organization will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from January 30th to February 1st, 2012. This marks 145 years since the commencement of Sri Lanka's commercial tea industry. Sri Lanka Tea Board will host the event, which is a major global forum for tea-producing and consuming nations. Over 125 decision-makers and 200 foreign delegates are expected to attend the conference and International Tea Convention to address issues impacting the global tea industry. Sri Lanka hopes to strengthen its position as a leading tea producer and gain benefits from participating in discussions on quality standards, pesticide regulations, and climate change impacts.

1. PRESS RELEASE
15TH DECEMBER 2011 AT 10.30 A.M, TAJ SAMUDRA HOTEL
20th Session of the Intergovernmental Group (IGG) on Tea of the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to be held in Colombo from 30th
January to 1st February 2012
The year 2012 marks 145 years of the commencement of Sri Lanka tea industry on a commercial scale. It
is with great pleasure that Sri Lanka Tea Board, the apex state organization of the tea industry in Sri Lanka
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under the purview of the Ministry of Plantation Industries, formally announces the hosting of the 20
Session of FAO/IGG on Tea in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2012.
Selecting Sri Lanka as the venue for one of the most important events in the global tea industry, providing
a prestigious platform for the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s 20th Session of the
Inter-Governmental Group (IGG) on Tea is certainly an achievement and shows the world recognition for
Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Tea Board will make arrangements to host the FAO/IGG Sessions which will take place
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from 30 January to 1 February 2012 at Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo.
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Incidentally, Sri Lanka hosted the 15 Session of FAO/IGG on Tea in August 2003 gaining immense
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mileage. At the 19 session held in May 2010 in India, Sri Lanka took the opportunity of bidding to host
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the 20 session in 2012 along with Indonesia and Malawi. Finally, the members agreed unanimously to
offer the opportunity to Sri Lanka to host the next session.
The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO)/Intergovernmental Group (IGG) on Tea which
was established in 1969 is a forum where important policies and strategies related to the global tea
industry are formulated. Its Membership is open to all the members/associate members of UN who are
interested in tea production/consumption/trading of tea. The FAO/IGG on Tea, a subsidiary body of the
committee on Commodity Problems hold biannual sessions and is considered as the only global forum for
member nations to deliberate issues related to production, marketing, pricing and consumption of tea.
Intercessional Working Groups representing all stakeholders are held every other year prior to main
FAO/IGG Session and it is mandatory to seek the approval of member countries on agenda, themes, issues
and new working groups to be discussed at the main session of FAO/IGG on tea.
The International Tea Committee (ITC) Producer/Consumer Members Forum will precede the IGG on Tea
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sessions on 29 January 2012, together with a half day meeting on “Climate Change”. In order to present
the global tea fraternity who will gather in Colombo with a total offering, Sri Lanka Tea Board and
Colombo Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) will be hosting an International Tea Convention on the theme
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“ExclusiviTEA” from 1 to 3 February 2012. The Colombo Tea Conventions have always been the best
attended in the tea world and boast of an exclusive mix of international speakers on themes of current
and future relevance. This mega-event is being organized by the CTTA , in collaboration with the Sri Lanka
Tea Board. The tea producing countries are also scheduled to meet on the sideline of FAO/IGG on Tea
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Conference, to establish an International Tea Producers Forum (ITPF) on 1 February 2012.The objective
of this gathering is to create a common platform for tea producers and to formulate strategies for the
benefit to all tea producing nations.
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2. Over 125 high-ranking decision makers from all the major tea producing and tea consuming countries are
expected to attend the Inter-Governmental Group Conference on Tea which is only by invitation. The
International Tea Convention and exhibition is estimated to attract over 200 foreign delegates, as well as
the stakeholders in the tea industry in Sri Lanka totaling more than 500 participants. The industry stake-
holders are keen to celebrate the first ever Tea Convention in Sri Lanka enjoying peace after 03 long
decades of internal conflict. Strong tea contingents from tea producing as well as consuming countries are
expected to attend this event.
As a major tea producing country and rated as the world’s highest foreign exchange earner from the
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export of tea, Sri Lanka tea industry is expected to gain the following major benefits through the 20
FAO/IGG session and International Tea Convention.
(i) Sri Lanka’s current status of adhering to ISO 3720 on minimum quality standards, which
enabled Sri Lanka to emerge at the forum as the only tea producer with the highest
degree of standard compliance can be further strengthened through an action plan
under the Working Group on “Tea Trade and Quality”.
(ii) With regard to Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) in Tea, Sri Lanka and India will be able
to continue the process of joint consultations which is needed for harmonizing the MRL
standards by all tea consumer countries and facilitating the formation of uniform MRL
standards for producing countries. Through the process of collating information on
Integrated Pest Management (IPM), banned chemicals and potential new generation
chemicals for pest control Sri Lanka will benefit as a producer.
(iii) The generation of medium term out look for the tea economy. The initial
demonstration will be made to test FAO World Tea Model using Sri Lanka’s data.
(iv) Two new working groups on “Organic Tea” and on “Climate Change” which were
identified at the Intercessional Meeting in Kenya will be deliberated at FAO/IGG Session
in Colombo. Sri Lanka as a pioneering organic tea producer agreed to furnish
information while activities are coordinated by India. Due to climate change scenarios
in the tea producing countries it is very timely to collate all available research data on
climate change and develop appropriate long-term technologies for
mitigation/adaptation. This will be further deliberated at the session.
(v) Sri Lanka is contemplating to form a tea producer forum, (one option would be to
reactivate the International Tea Producers’’ Forum (ITPF) which originated at a previous
FAO/IGG session) in order to create a platform for exchange of views for the advantage
of tea producers and to formulate strategies for deriving common benefits to all tea
producing nations.
15/12/2011 Sri Lanka Tea Board
574, Galle road
Colombo 03
http://www.ceylonteaevents.com