Tea
Unilever is the world’s largest supplier of black leaf tea, with yearly
sales of around 320,000 tonnes, which accounts for 16 % of world volume of black
leaf tea. Lipton is our best known brand. We own tea estates in India and East
Africa and additional quantities are purchased at auctions and from third party
growers. Pilot projects are established in Kenya, India and Tanzania.
The programme in Kenya started in 1999 on the estates of Brooke Bond Kenya,
which produces roughly 35,000 tons of made tea on 8,200 ha. Since the conditions
for growing tea in Kenya are favourable (there are no local pests or diseases)
the team has focussed on optimising renewable energy sources (hydro and fuel
wood) and maintaining and restoring biodiversity. Sharing the learnings with
smallholders (an important part of the Kenyan tea sector) is one of the main
challenges for the future.
The programme in India started in 2000 on 3 different plantations (Doom Dooma
India, Rossell Industries Ltd and Tea Estates India, located in both North (DDI
and RIL) and South India (TEI), covering a total of 9,900 ha and producing 26,000
tons of made tea. Emphasis here is on IPM and measures to contain soil erosion.
The programme in Tanzania started in 2001 on the estates of Brooke Bond Tanzania,
which is with a modest 3,000 ha and 9,000 tons of production the smallest of
the three programmes. Since part of this estate is being irrigated, this receives
attention as does soil compaction. Biodiversity conservation in adjacent forest
(belonging to the estate but part of a national park) also receives much attention.
A first set of Good Agricultural Practice guidelines for tea was published
in 2002 (please check Results,
SA Guidelines), including a version for smallholder. Detailed operating
procedures and results of indicator measurements will follow later.