TUESDAY, 14 JUNE 2011 23:15
The much-debated and looked-forward-to value addition for Sri Lanka’s most popular export commodity, “Ceylon tea”, a process that was initiated in 2008, is now becoming a reality.
The tea industry in Sri Lanka is moving closer to protecting the value of ‘Ceylon Tea’ by initiating action to obtain a ‘Geographical Indication’ (GI) for the commodity from the World Trade Organization and for international registration in about 50 markets initially; a very costly and time consuming initiative. Protection against abuses is equally costly.
The Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) has also developed individual names, logos and brands for tea grown in seven different regions of Sri Lanka viz. Uva, Nuwara Eliya, Ruhuna, Uda Pussellawa, Dimbula, Kandy and Sabaragamuwa. It is known that tea from each of these regions have their unique features.
The FAO attempted to draft a “Geographical Indication” for tea to cover all its tea growing members. But, considering the difficulties in bench marking the status of each member country, the working group on this at FAO noted that the work on GIs was very country specific and therefore abandoned the project.
Tea exports of 314,500 mn kg in 2010 from Sri Lanka, second in global ranking ( please see Box1), have generated a revenue of US$ 1.2 billion, although it fell by 6.8% after hitting a peak of US$ 1.28 in 2008.
Costs of protection and enforcement:
The Tea Board has to spend large sums of money on legal and registration expenses, costs of hiring an international watch agency and fighting infringements in overseas jurisdictions. This does not account for administrative expenses including manpower working on the job in the Tea Board, cost of setting up monitoring mechanisms, software development costs etc. It is a great challenge for every geographical indication right-holder to incur such expenses for protection.
Considering that protection of “Ceylon tea” as a geographical indication is the responsibility of the Tea Board as a statutory body of the Government of Sri Lanka with other public policy objectives and concerns for the welfare of the average plantation workers and other interests involved in the industry, the exorbitant and phenomenal resources expected to be spent by the Tea Board for worldwide protection and enforcement will constitute a significant drain on the already strained budgets of the country.
Further, like overseeing, monitoring and implementing GI protection, the high cost of taking Country and Region Specific Ceylon Tea legal action can prevent a country from engaging a legal expert to contest the case, however genuine and strong the case may be. Moreover, a lack of expertise in the proper handling of highly complex legal language is another challenge.
Nevertheless, the Tea Board has recognized the importance of protection and, despite the costs, is striving to ensure that “Ceylon tea” is protected for the benefit of the producers and consumers.
Geographical Indication:
It has been reported that in tea trading hubs like Dubai, teas are blended and marketed as Ceylon Tea for example, and by getting a GI status this is expected to be prevented. This would not only be an effective marketing tool internationally, it would also prevent the false marketing of other international teas as ‘Ceylon Tea’. The wine growing regions of France and Darjeeling tea are good examples.
Geographical indications have also turned out to be the most controversial of all the intellectual property rights included in the WTO agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The two most contentious issues concerning GIs were extension of enhanced protection to products other than wines and spirits and the multilateral system for notification and registration of geographical indications
Ceylon Tea
It has been said that Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka known as the best tea in the world, has its natural uniqueness and reputation running through more than a century. The tea sector in Sri Lanka has always been a vital part of its economy. For over a century Ceylon Tea has been the best tea throughout the world since its unique characteristics, flavors and aromas, dependent on a myriad of climatic conditions, plantation environments and elevation. Each cup is a voyage into the exotic mist covered tea gardens of Ceylon.
The SLTB has developed its own definition for the purpose of GI registration.
Darjeeling Tea:
Darjeeling Tea, it can only be manufactured in Darjeeling as the taste, colour and aroma are unique to that region. Darjeeling Tea is one of the world’s most expensive teas and enjoys special rights with its GI status with no other country allowed to manufacture or produce the tea except in the Darjeeling region of West Bengal, India.
India also had its problem in protecting the geographical indication (GI) of Darjeeling tea. Its story was that of the unauthorized use and registration of ‘Darjeeling and Darjeeling logo’ by Japanese companies already registered in Japan. It had also been concerned about the unauthorized use and attempted registration of the words ‘Darjeeling and Darjeeling logo’ by some other developed countries.
Definition:
Darjeeling tea was able to register it’s tea under the following specifications:
Tea, which has been cultivated, grown, produced, manufactured and processed in tea gardens in the hilly areas of Sadar sub-division, only hilly areas of Kalimpong Sub-Division comprising Samabeong Tea Estate, Ambiok Tea Estate, Mission Hill Tea Estate, Upper Fagu and Kumai Tea Estates and Kurseong Sub-Division excluding the areas in jurisdiction list 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 31 and 33 comprising Subtiguri Sub-Division of New Chumta Tea Estate, Simulbari and Marionbari Tea Estate Of Kurseong Police station in Kurseong Sub-Division of the District of Darjeeling in the State of west Bengal, India.
Tea, which has been processed and manufactured in a factory located in the aforesaid areas, other than tea manufactured by CTC process.
Tea, which, when brewed, has a distinctive, naturally occurring aroma and taste with light liquor and the infused leaf of which has a distinctive fragrance.
The Tea Board of India and DPA are jointly taking steps to protect the Darjeeling name under the World Trade Organization convention, covering geographical indications of source.
Geographical Origin:
Under international law, Geographical Indications mean indications which identify a product as originating in the territory of a member, or a region or a locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
Darjeeling tea is India’s treasured Geographical Indication and forms a very important part of India’s cultural and collective intellectual heritage. It is of considerable importance to the economy of India because of the international reputation and consumer recognition enjoyed by it.
In the legal sphere, countries are seeking to protect Geographical Indications as geographical indications, collective marks or certification marks.
Importance of Darjeeling:
There are both scientific as well as religious beliefs behind why Darjeeling is the most suitable place to grow tea. The local people believe that the Himalayan range is the abode of Shanker Mahadeva and the breath of God brings winds that cool the brow of the sun filled valley, and the mist and fog which provide the moisture. The fountain that flows from the piled head of Shiva provides water for crops and it thrives. The diversity of Darjeeling tea is further accentuated by differences in wind and rainfalls that depend on the altitude and exposure of the slopes under cultivation.
The quality, reputation and characteristics of Darjeeling tea are essentially attributable to its geographical origin. It possesses a flavor and quality which sets it apart from other teas, giving it the stature of a fine vintage wine. As a result, it has won the patronage and recognition of discerning consumers worldwide for more than a century. Any member of the trade and public when ordering or purchasing Darjeeling tea will expect the tea to be cultivated, grown and produced in the defined region of the district of Darjeeling and have the special characteristics associated with such tea.
Consequently Darjeeling tea is worthy of its name and cannot be grown or manufactured anywhere else in the world. Darjeeling tea cannot be replicated anywhere.
Conclusion:
This important initiative by the SLTB would help to prevent counterfeiting and misuse of the word “Ceylon Tea” as well as other regional names of tea growing areas/logos, deliver an authentic product to the consumer and achieve international status/protection.
Examples of other already existing Asian GIs include Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit and Phu Quoc Fish Sauce from Vietnam, Doi Tung Coffee from Thailand, and Longjing Tea from China. Many Asian countries have agricultural and food products which benefit from GI protection and promotion, besides Darjeeling Tea from India, others include Bali Coffee from Indonesia etc.
The Sri Lankan Government, Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) and other tea industry stakeholders will eventually be able to promote pure Ceylon tea features in the international market aggressively.
Source: http://print.dailymirror.lk/business/127-local/46946.html
The much-debated and looked-forward-to value addition for Sri Lanka’s most popular export commodity, “Ceylon tea”, a process that was initiated in 2008, is now becoming a reality.
The tea industry in Sri Lanka is moving closer to protecting the value of ‘Ceylon Tea’ by initiating action to obtain a ‘Geographical Indication’ (GI) for the commodity from the World Trade Organization and for international registration in about 50 markets initially; a very costly and time consuming initiative. Protection against abuses is equally costly.
The Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) has also developed individual names, logos and brands for tea grown in seven different regions of Sri Lanka viz. Uva, Nuwara Eliya, Ruhuna, Uda Pussellawa, Dimbula, Kandy and Sabaragamuwa. It is known that tea from each of these regions have their unique features.
The FAO attempted to draft a “Geographical Indication” for tea to cover all its tea growing members. But, considering the difficulties in bench marking the status of each member country, the working group on this at FAO noted that the work on GIs was very country specific and therefore abandoned the project.
Tea exports of 314,500 mn kg in 2010 from Sri Lanka, second in global ranking ( please see Box1), have generated a revenue of US$ 1.2 billion, although it fell by 6.8% after hitting a peak of US$ 1.28 in 2008.
Costs of protection and enforcement:
The Tea Board has to spend large sums of money on legal and registration expenses, costs of hiring an international watch agency and fighting infringements in overseas jurisdictions. This does not account for administrative expenses including manpower working on the job in the Tea Board, cost of setting up monitoring mechanisms, software development costs etc. It is a great challenge for every geographical indication right-holder to incur such expenses for protection.
Considering that protection of “Ceylon tea” as a geographical indication is the responsibility of the Tea Board as a statutory body of the Government of Sri Lanka with other public policy objectives and concerns for the welfare of the average plantation workers and other interests involved in the industry, the exorbitant and phenomenal resources expected to be spent by the Tea Board for worldwide protection and enforcement will constitute a significant drain on the already strained budgets of the country.
Further, like overseeing, monitoring and implementing GI protection, the high cost of taking Country and Region Specific Ceylon Tea legal action can prevent a country from engaging a legal expert to contest the case, however genuine and strong the case may be. Moreover, a lack of expertise in the proper handling of highly complex legal language is another challenge.
Nevertheless, the Tea Board has recognized the importance of protection and, despite the costs, is striving to ensure that “Ceylon tea” is protected for the benefit of the producers and consumers.
Geographical Indication:
It has been reported that in tea trading hubs like Dubai, teas are blended and marketed as Ceylon Tea for example, and by getting a GI status this is expected to be prevented. This would not only be an effective marketing tool internationally, it would also prevent the false marketing of other international teas as ‘Ceylon Tea’. The wine growing regions of France and Darjeeling tea are good examples.
Geographical indications have also turned out to be the most controversial of all the intellectual property rights included in the WTO agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The two most contentious issues concerning GIs were extension of enhanced protection to products other than wines and spirits and the multilateral system for notification and registration of geographical indications
Ceylon Tea
It has been said that Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka known as the best tea in the world, has its natural uniqueness and reputation running through more than a century. The tea sector in Sri Lanka has always been a vital part of its economy. For over a century Ceylon Tea has been the best tea throughout the world since its unique characteristics, flavors and aromas, dependent on a myriad of climatic conditions, plantation environments and elevation. Each cup is a voyage into the exotic mist covered tea gardens of Ceylon.
The SLTB has developed its own definition for the purpose of GI registration.
Darjeeling Tea:
Darjeeling Tea, it can only be manufactured in Darjeeling as the taste, colour and aroma are unique to that region. Darjeeling Tea is one of the world’s most expensive teas and enjoys special rights with its GI status with no other country allowed to manufacture or produce the tea except in the Darjeeling region of West Bengal, India.
India also had its problem in protecting the geographical indication (GI) of Darjeeling tea. Its story was that of the unauthorized use and registration of ‘Darjeeling and Darjeeling logo’ by Japanese companies already registered in Japan. It had also been concerned about the unauthorized use and attempted registration of the words ‘Darjeeling and Darjeeling logo’ by some other developed countries.
Definition:
Darjeeling tea was able to register it’s tea under the following specifications:
Tea, which has been cultivated, grown, produced, manufactured and processed in tea gardens in the hilly areas of Sadar sub-division, only hilly areas of Kalimpong Sub-Division comprising Samabeong Tea Estate, Ambiok Tea Estate, Mission Hill Tea Estate, Upper Fagu and Kumai Tea Estates and Kurseong Sub-Division excluding the areas in jurisdiction list 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 31 and 33 comprising Subtiguri Sub-Division of New Chumta Tea Estate, Simulbari and Marionbari Tea Estate Of Kurseong Police station in Kurseong Sub-Division of the District of Darjeeling in the State of west Bengal, India.
Tea, which has been processed and manufactured in a factory located in the aforesaid areas, other than tea manufactured by CTC process.
Tea, which, when brewed, has a distinctive, naturally occurring aroma and taste with light liquor and the infused leaf of which has a distinctive fragrance.
The Tea Board of India and DPA are jointly taking steps to protect the Darjeeling name under the World Trade Organization convention, covering geographical indications of source.
Geographical Origin:
Under international law, Geographical Indications mean indications which identify a product as originating in the territory of a member, or a region or a locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
Darjeeling tea is India’s treasured Geographical Indication and forms a very important part of India’s cultural and collective intellectual heritage. It is of considerable importance to the economy of India because of the international reputation and consumer recognition enjoyed by it.
In the legal sphere, countries are seeking to protect Geographical Indications as geographical indications, collective marks or certification marks.
Importance of Darjeeling:
There are both scientific as well as religious beliefs behind why Darjeeling is the most suitable place to grow tea. The local people believe that the Himalayan range is the abode of Shanker Mahadeva and the breath of God brings winds that cool the brow of the sun filled valley, and the mist and fog which provide the moisture. The fountain that flows from the piled head of Shiva provides water for crops and it thrives. The diversity of Darjeeling tea is further accentuated by differences in wind and rainfalls that depend on the altitude and exposure of the slopes under cultivation.
The quality, reputation and characteristics of Darjeeling tea are essentially attributable to its geographical origin. It possesses a flavor and quality which sets it apart from other teas, giving it the stature of a fine vintage wine. As a result, it has won the patronage and recognition of discerning consumers worldwide for more than a century. Any member of the trade and public when ordering or purchasing Darjeeling tea will expect the tea to be cultivated, grown and produced in the defined region of the district of Darjeeling and have the special characteristics associated with such tea.
Consequently Darjeeling tea is worthy of its name and cannot be grown or manufactured anywhere else in the world. Darjeeling tea cannot be replicated anywhere.
Conclusion:
This important initiative by the SLTB would help to prevent counterfeiting and misuse of the word “Ceylon Tea” as well as other regional names of tea growing areas/logos, deliver an authentic product to the consumer and achieve international status/protection.
Examples of other already existing Asian GIs include Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit and Phu Quoc Fish Sauce from Vietnam, Doi Tung Coffee from Thailand, and Longjing Tea from China. Many Asian countries have agricultural and food products which benefit from GI protection and promotion, besides Darjeeling Tea from India, others include Bali Coffee from Indonesia etc.
The Sri Lankan Government, Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) and other tea industry stakeholders will eventually be able to promote pure Ceylon tea features in the international market aggressively.
Source: http://print.dailymirror.lk/business/127-local/46946.html