The IGG heard the presentations of the project executing agency, the UK Tea Council, which was given the mandate to co-ordinate and initiate a case for a generic promotion in few selected areas of the world.

Back in Asia, the newly formed Tea Association of South Asia (TASA) mooted at the last Saarc meeting has drawn up serious plans on exchange of information and data amongst the member countries. The office of the Tea Board of India will be the temporary secretariat of the TASA and will render all secretariat services for the time being. There was a consensus for co-operation on plant improvements, subject to the prevailing laws and regulations in the member countries.

The forum also decided to exchange information on research done on the health benefits of tea and to co-operate on further joint scientific work done on this subject as well as co-operate in the production of other tea products like speciality tea.

Sensing an urgent need to address the volume of tea consumption in the world, the newly formed TASA has identified thrust areas including India as a major centre for giving a strong reason for generic promotion to link promotion with the health benefit.

Thrust areas include Pakistan and India within South Asia, and Myanmar, Thailand, South Korea, Philippines, Malaysia within East Asia have been identified for the exercise.

To set the process in motion, a decision towards having a common fund on commodities has been contemplated. This fund is slated to have a budget allocation for the promotion to support the generic campaign on "tea and health".

The packet tea segment is said to explore the possibility of highlighting the message of health benefits of tea in the various countries subject to its legal implications.

One of the ideas mooted at the TASA meeting was the adherence to quality standards in tea by all countries in order to position itself on health parameters. To this effect, it was decided that marketing of tea should conform to the ISO 3720 specifications at the point of sale.

A producer may be conforming to the quality standards at the point of production, but it is more important to stick to the same while selling the product at the retail end. This was felt by a large section of the industry.

Tea as a product is often vulnerable to near tea products which are labelled as tea. This was the reason why it was decided by the TASA members that preparation of a document for the purpose of defining tea was important. This would enable it to be protected from other products which are not derived from the tea bush, "Camellia Sinensis."