Tea producers stir price fears

The price of a cup of tea could rise after the world's biggest producers agreed to join forces to boost profits.

Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Malawi and Rwanda have just held two days of talks in Colombo.

They have now announced the formation of the International Tea Producers' Forum.

These countries account for more than 50 per cent of global production.

80 year effort

Sri Lanka's Plantations Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said exporting nations had been trying to establish a forum for 80 years.

Initially they will focus on sharing knowledge and boosting demand for tea to raise prices.

But Mr Samarasinghe suggested more sophisticated - and controversial - methods such as supply controls would be raised in the future.

In 1994 Colombo proposed a tea cartel on the lines of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the crude oil cartel dominated by Saudi Arabia.

But tea-producing nations were then not united.

Global tea prices are around $US2.5 a kilo, down from about $2.84 a year ago.

Source: ABC News, 24 January 2013