International Tea Day | 21 May

Recognizing the long history and deep cultural and economic significance of tea around the world, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 May as International Tea Day, calling on FAO to lead the observance. 

Tea production and processing are a main source of livelihoods for millions of families, particularly in developing countries. The celebration promotes the sustainable production, consumption and trade of tea, and offers an opportunity for actors at global, regional and national levels to ensure that the tea sector continues to play a role in reducing extreme poverty, fighting hunger and safeguarding natural resources.

• 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.
• Trade recovered in 2021 as shipments from major exporters resumed
• During the COVID-19 pandemic tea sales remarkably increased spurred by purchases for in-home consumption, as tea brought comfort to millions around the world
• Increasing in-home consumption of tea more than offset declining out-of-home consumption in many instances.
• 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.

The FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) programme to date, has designated almost 60 sites as dynamic spaces where culture, biodiversity and sustainable agricultural techniques coexist, proving to be vital to achieve food security and generate livelihoods.

China, Korea and Japan have 4 tea cultivation sites designated as Globally Important  Agricultural Heritage Systems by FAO. These sites that represent evolving systems of human communities in an intricate relationship with their territory, cultural and agricultural landscape.

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 is one of the world’s oldest beverages, and is the most consumed drink in the world.
• Tea is available in many varieties, which differ according to the applied oxidation and fermentation technique.
• Tea cultivation provides employment and income to millions of smallholder growers, who are supplementing or even replacing production of larger tea estates in many countries.
• While three quarters of tea produced is consumed domestically, tea is a widely traded and exported commodity.
• Over the past decades, the global tea industry has seen rapid growth, with a rising number of consumers globally.
• Despite the increase of tea consumption in major producing countries, per capita consumption remains low, suggesting there is still considerable growth potential in these countries.
• Drinking tea can bring many healthy benefits, from anti-inflammatory to antioxidant and weight loss effects.
• China, Korea and Japan have 4 tea cultivation sites designated as Globally Important  Agricultural Heritage Systems by FAO.