Dubai freezone DMCC has projected the worldwide tea market to develop from $282bn to almost $300bn by the tip of 2025, pushed by premium, natural and ready-to-drink teas, climate-smart manufacturing and digital traceability.
The forecast was unveiled on the ninth World Dubai Tea Discussion board (GDTF), the place DMCC launched its newest Way forward for Commerce: Tea special-edition report.
The research maps the evolution of an business valued at $18bn in annual manufacturing and $9.8bn in world commerce, supporting hundreds of thousands of smallholders worldwide.
In accordance with DMCC, the report outlines a roadmap for a extra resilient, inclusive and modern tea economic system, highlighting how commerce hubs resembling Dubai are redefining the worldwide worth chain.
Dubai on the centre of worldwide tea re-exports
Lengthy recognised as a logistics and re-export powerhouse, the UAE now accounts for greater than half of the world’s tea re-exports.
The nation is transferring additional up the worth chain by superior mixing, packaging, flavour profiling, storage, tax effectivity and monetary companies, all facilitated by the DMCC Tea Centre.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Govt Chairman and CEO of DMCC, mentioned: “World tea consumption is nearing $300bn yearly, pushed by premium, natural and able to drink codecs, and the UAE sits on the centre of this shift.
“Since we launched the DMCC Tea Centre 20 years in the past, Dubai has moved from logistics gateway to world hub for worth creation. The true margin sits in worth add, together with mixing, branding and verifiable provenance, so traceability and local weather resilience at the moment are business requirements.
“This yr’s World Dubai Tea Discussion board set a transparent course for the business: construct a tea economic system that’s local weather sensible, digitally traceable and commercially investable.
“We’ll proceed convening the business and scaling the platforms that flip these ideas into aggressive benefit.”
UAE commerce ecosystem
Abdulaziz Al Nuaimi, Assistant Underneath-Secretary for Entrepreneurship and the Financial Affairs Regulatory Sector on the UAE Ministry of Financial system, mentioned:
“Dubai’s place as one of many world’s main tea re-export hubs displays the UAE’s wider success in constructing a commerce ecosystem outlined by certainty, innovation and openness.
“Tea has been a driver of worldwide commerce for hundreds of years, and at the moment it continues to attach producers and shoppers by trendy, technology-enabled worth chains.
“By combining superior infrastructure with environment friendly commerce coverage, the UAE has remodeled tea from a standard commodity right into a catalyst for sustainable progress.
“That is what the UAE, Dubai and the DMCC Tea Centre presents.”
Steeped in success
Held beneath the theme “Tea on the Crossroads: Commerce, Tariffs and Know-how in an Age of Realignment,” this yr’s GDTF introduced collectively tons of of presidency officers, producers, merchants, consumers and multinationals to look at the challenges and alternatives reshaping the sector.
Discussions centered on how local weather volatility, inflation and shifting shopper behaviour — notably amongst Technology Z — are redefining demand, provide routes and product codecs.
Individuals additionally explored direct-to-consumer fashions, tariff pressures, equitable sustainability frameworks and the necessity for inclusive financing for smallholder farmers.
Constructing on DMCC’s analysis, attendees known as for funding in climate-resilient farming, digital traceability techniques, and wellness-focused product innovation, reflecting rising demand for useful and natural teas.
With local weather danger already impacting main producers resembling Kenya, specialists warned that traceability and resilience at the moment are business imperatives for the worldwide tea commerce.
DMCC Tea Centre: powering Dubai’s world position
Situated inside Dubai’s world commerce ecosystem, the DMCC Tea Centre presents built-in storage, tasting, mixing, packaging and re-export services that streamline world provide chains and speed up product innovation.
In 2024, the centre dealt with greater than 24,400 metric tonnes of tea, connecting producers from conventional origin markets with fast-growing shopper hubs throughout the Center East, Europe and Asia.
