A Look at Tea, One of the Most Important Agricultural Products

The object that I have chosen for this essay is tea, as this object is one of the most important agricultural products in Africa. While coffee might seem to be the ‘go-to’ hot beverage, the world actually runs on tea. Tea is the most popular drink in the world after water, and in the United States alone, tea imports have risen over 400% since 1990 (Szenthe, 2019). Globally 80% of tea produced in black tea, 18% is green tea and 2% is oolong. Compared to coffee, tea has 50% less caffeine, which means you can consume it without those pesky effects on your nervous system (Lesile Bonci, n.d.).

In 1669, the English East India Company brought its first shipment of Chinese tea to Britain (Tea and Progress, n.d.). Till today the British Cultural Institution that this is the ‘cuppa’, which has become very popular. Tea is grown in 36 countries, however the six largest producing countries are China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Turkey, and these six countries outweigh 80% of the world output (The Canadian Fair Trade Network, n.d.). The global tea market was valued almost 50 billion US dollars in 2017, and is expected to rise over 73 billion dollars by 2024 (Conway, 2019). Tea came in to the Western Hemisphere long ago before coffee. The debate surrounding tea is much greater impact on humans than the environment, especially in India and Africa. Globally, tea continues its steady increase in production. Farmers and workers depend on tea for their living, especially in Africa, where tea is an economically important crop contributor significantly to foreign exchange earnings and rural development.

The tea crops are available in tropical and sub-tropical climates, specific requirements of temperatures between the range of 10-30 degrees Celsius, with a minimum annual precipitation of 1250 mm. This is why tea production is only successful in a few countries, as it requires highly sensitive growing conditions. However, due to globally worming there is a high risk on the growing conditions due to climate change.

The main determinant for the growth of the global tea economy is demand for the commodity. Tea prices are rising due to the demand being strong despite economic downturn, if people’s income fall, demand won’t as consumers see tea as an essential product. Therefore, tea is an inferior good and we can say that the demand for tea is income inelastic. However, drought and floods in major areas of production such as Malawi, between 2015 floods and 2015-16 drought, the crop estimates shows that the overall food production has declined by 12.4 percent from 2014-15, which was already down by about 30 percent due to the floods in 2015. The nature of growing tea is that the producers aren’t able to increase supply in the short term. Demand is price inelastic, therefore an increase in the price of tea doesn’t affect consumers from buying it, due to there are fewer alternatives to tea thus increase in price won’t affect demand (Pettinger T., 2009).

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Health has a great influence with the consumption of tea. Tea has been believed to have originated in China as a medicinal drink (Szenthe, 2019). Tea contains antioxidants which prevent the body’s version of rust, and thus help us young and protect us from damage from pollution. There’s a lot of literature out there on tea and heart health. It is claimed that there is a nearly 20% reduction in the risk of heart attack and a 35% reduction in the risk of stroke among those who drink one to three cups of green tea per day.

Tea was originally used as a medical beverage; the drink was popular for recreational use during the Tang Dynasty and spread to other Asian countries (Conway, 2019). Tea is a product which through trade has been globalized. Trade, travel and technology all come together, so tea can be adopted as a customary and popular beverage in many countries. For example, in India and Africa, where tea is produced in different types, thus becoming popular and distinct to their cultures. Globalization of tea has been positive in human history as it provided us with a beverage which can be modified to the cultures specific tastes and traditions.

Fair Trade has taken into account the environmental and human issues associated with the sale of certain products, including tea. Fair Trade has included tea as a commodity in its repertoire since 2000. The premise of all Fair Trade programs is that, when a fair and stable price is paid for raw goods, living conditions of those involved will be improved. Critics claim that the Fair Trade label benefits only the farmer or larger company, and benefits do not trickle down to the workers, or that the standards set by the organization are not high enough. Supporters cite specific programs that have benefitted workers. In addition to ensuring that farming techniques are as sustainable as possible and workers are provided with a living wage for food, clean water, housing and healthcare, Fair Trade works with some of its certified tea growers in China, India, Kenya and other places on specialty programs, such as organic cultivation, gender equality initiatives, advanced education for workers to break the cycle of poverty, pensions, infrastructure, and access to technology and information. Fair Trade products, including teas, are sold in many markets for higher prices than conventional goods. It is important that the public remain conscientious of the people who may have suffered to produce a cup of tea, but solutions, like Fair Trade, awareness, and legislation, have also made an impact and improved the lives of tea growers significantly in the past century.

In the 21st century, tea is still hand-picked, where pollution is taken into account, however the only environmental impact of the tea production is deforestations. Farmers use hectors of land for tea plantation, and this has affected the surroundings of our ecosystem today. Today, forests cover 30% of the earths land and will continue to decrease. Deforestation had caused the removal or trees to make room for agricultural plantations, resulting to several impacts. 70% of the worlds land animals and plants live is the forest, where deforestation has an effect on the habitat, and this is why these organisms don’t survive. On the other hand, tress play a critical role which the prevention of global warming, they responsible for the absorption of many of the greenhouse gasses, which penetrate the atmosphere and directly lead global warming itself. Although tea planation may not be the sole cause of deforestation, it’s a primary contributor. In India especially, thousands of acres of the forest have been cut down to make room for more profitable plantations.