Tea Sector Research Articles

Analysis of the determinants of sustainable agricultural technologies adoption in tea production in China: a systematic review

ABSTRACTAgriculture in China is undergoing a swift transformation to modify labour relocation. This change is spearheaded by commercial farms and other Chinese government interventions thereby promoting agricultural production and rural growth. The input-dependent industrial model of agriculture is also considered in conflict with attaining a safe and healthy environment for its inhabitants. The current approaches initiated in the tea sector have witnessed several enriched sustainable agricultural technologies (SATs). The SATs seek to increase yield while ensuring agricultural sustainability via ecological strategies. However, reports have shown farmers have low desire resulting in a lower acceptance rate of SATs among Chinese farmers. We provide a systematic review with a focus on the key determinants of SATs adoption rate in tea production in China from 2000 to 2022. The results revealed the significance and suitability of different approaches in establishing farmers’ adoption behaviour. The specificity of farmers’ SAT adoption behaviour is essentially not compromised by any codified variables but the interrelationship among the determinants, including socio-demographic, agroecological and environmental, technological, institutional, and social networks, and informational, and farmer behavioural factors. We recommend that the government increase awareness of SATs to promote public demand for agricultural sustainability, particularly in developing countries.

The Perception of Customer-based Brand Equity in China's tea industry: A case study Tian Shang Ren Jian Brand

Background and Aim: A brand equity might be its monetary value, its position in a company's balance sheet, or customers' loyalty and confidence in the goods offered by the business. This study aims to explore the level of perception of customer-based brand equity of the Tian Shang Ren Jian brand in China's tea industry and to study the guideline for Customer based Brand Equity development of the Tian Shang Ren Jian brand in China's tea industry Materials and Methods: This research is a quantitative research method. The total sample size for the research will be 385 customers of the Tian Shang Ren Jian brand. The questionnaire was used as a tool to collect data. Statistical values such as percentage, frequency, mean, and standard deviation were used for data analysis. Results: The results suggest that each of the variables demonstrated elevated values, with an average score of 4.11 and a deviation from the mean of 0.64. The levels of brand awareness, image, perceived quality, and loyalty were significantly higher. Tian Shang Ren Jian's customer-based brand equity ideas can help China's tea sector build successful partnerships by emphasizing individualization and self-conceptual links. Tian Shang Ren Jian needs to improve its understanding of the brand, sales promotion, and digital media technologies to uphold consumer confidence and enhance brand/product communication. Conclusion: Tian Shang Ren Jian's customer-based brand equity ideas can help China's tea sector build successful partnerships, with an average score of high level from the mean. Managers and marketers of Tian Shang Ren Jian brand should review their situation analysis and rethink their brand identity to improve sustainability.

Enhancing the Competitiveness of Tea Export of Vietnam Versus Other ASEAN Countries in the International Market

Tea is one of the leading agricultural export commodities of Vietnam. In this study, the tea market position of Vietnam and its competitiveness with other ASEAN countries from 2006 to 2020 was analyzed. The data was collected from several sources, such as national and international organizations. The study used Export Similarity Index (ESI) and Revealed the Comparative Advantage index (RCA) to analyze the comparativeness of tea export of Vietnam with other ASEAN countries. The results showed that Vietnam had more potential and advantage in tea production and export than other countries in ASEAN, reflected in the ESI and RCA indexes. However, Vietnam’s tea sector had not yet taken full advantage of the country’s potential. Based on the findings, some suggestions regarding policy implementation, management of government and enterprises, production and market development for the tea sector were given. With those suggestions, it was expected that Vietnam’s tea sector will achieve sustainable growth and gradually enhance its position in the international market in the future.

DEVELOPMENT LINKAGES OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM’S COFFEE AND TEA SECTOR: GLOBAL AND REGIONAL VALUE CHAIN PERSPECTIVES

The development of agriculture and agrifood-based products is at the forefront of Brunei Vision 2035, Brunei Darussalam’s most aggressive economic drive to date. One such instance of agri-food production is locally made coffee and tea products, which is taking place in the country despite the limited amounts of domestic raw materials available. The presence of this sector in the market, therefore, warrants further investigation. This case study uses Michael Porter’s Value Chain Analysis (VCA) and Gereffi’s Global–Regional Value Chain (GRVC) theory to analyze Brunei’s coffee and tea Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by mapping and tracing the origins of inputs; identifying local and regional value-adding processes; and pinpointing firms’ strategies towards building their capacities and capabilities. The aim is to establish the competitiveness of this sector against regional and global well-known brands. As such, this paper highlights inter-firm linkages of coffee and tea production in Brunei and positions Brunei’s firms in Shih’s GVC smiling curve, relative to its partners based on levels of value-addedness and functional complexities. While limited to conventional coffee and tea producers, this study provides a starting point in the hybrid use of VCA and GRVC to understand local–regional development linkages that exist in small national economies like Brunei Darussalam which are necessary for firms to remain competitive. It also contributes to policy learning and knowledge enrichment for the government, consumers, and industrialists alike, by highlighting the lessons gained from this sector’s experiences.

Supply Chain Management Practices on Organizational Performance: A Case Study of Tea Industries in North Rift Valley, Kenya

The tea sector in Kenya has been in a crisis for the past decade due to supply and demand implications. Tea prices are increasing in the short term, but long-term prices have decreased to half of what farmers received five decades ago. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of supply chain management practices on organizational performance of tea industry in the North Rift Valley, Kenya. The study was guided by the four objectives: to identify supply chain management practices adopted by firms in the tea industry in North Rift Valley Kenya, to establish the level performance of tea firms in North Rift Valley Kenya, to find out if there is a significant relationship between SCM practices and performance in the tea industry in North Rift Valley, Kenya and to give recommendations on how to improve the levels of supply chain management practices of tea industry in the North Rift Valley, Kenya. This study utilized a descriptive mixed research design. Tea manufacturers in the North Rift Valley region were investigated using a census technique. Purposive sampling and stratified sampling were used, with departments divided into clusters for each level of the organization. To pick respondents in various strata, simple random sampling was used. Total of 71 respondents participated in the study. For data analysis, this study used SPSS version 25.0, which generated descriptive statistics, frequency tables, plots, and graphs. It also supplied inferential statistics and variable correlations. Multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. The study findings showed that tea companies in the region recognize the importance of collaborative partnerships, lean practices, and effective materials management in optimizing their supply chain performance. From the findings, it was concluded that Tea firms in North Rift Valley, Kenya recognize and value strategic partnerships, lean practices, and materials management as key components of effective supply chain management. The study found that the tea companies are performing well in terms of efficiency and profitability. However, there was no significant relationship between strategic partnership and performance, hence the study recommended that tea firms should focus on improving their lean practices and materials management to optimize their supply chain performance.

SMART TEA: Churn, Trend, Inventory and Sales Prediction System Using Machine Learning

Managing operations at a tea factory requires consistency and planning. This paper presents a complete platform that uses advanced machine learning methods specifically designed for the tea sector. Sales prediction, churn prediction, trend prediction, and smart inventory management are the four essential features of our solution. While using Neural Networks for Churn Prediction offers exact insights into customer churn, utilizing Gradient Boosting for Sales Prediction guarantees accurate revenue estimates. Linear regression models were used for trend prediction and smart inventory management to enable efficient utilization of resources and trend identification. With the help of this integrated system, tea companies can now operate more profitably and sustainably in a market that is always changing. This research acts as a beacon, demonstrating the revolutionary potential of data-driven management as operations in the tea industry evolve.

Farmers Perception of Access and Use of Modern Information Communication Technologies in Enhancing Smallholder Tea Production in Kakamega County, Kenya

The smallholder tea sector in Kenya forms the second-largest agricultural exporter after horticulture, contributing 4 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Modern communication technologies (MCTS) are key in supporting production, processing and marketing across the tea sector value chain. Despite the availability of all these technologies, their access and use by smallholder tea farmers for production and tea auction price monitoring are still minimal. Further, farmers’ perception of access and use of modern communication technologies is not well known. The objective of this study was to evaluate smallholder farmers’ perceptions on access and use of modern communication technologies in enhancing tea production in Shinyalu subcounty.The study was anchored on diffusion of innovation that emphasizes on the five attributes of an innovation. The study evaluated the farmers’ perception of access and use of MCTs. The study adopted a descriptive research design where fisher’s formula was used to get 162 out of 1,600 smallholder tea farmers who were systematically sampled and interviewed. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Likert perception test scale was also used test perception statements. The data was cleaned and analyzed in form of frequencies and percentages and chi-square The results established that majority of the tea farmers (36%) had acquired basic literacy levels of education to use modern technologies in tea production. It also established that modern technologies such as smartcard technology 78%, mobile phone text messages 62% and personal digital assistants 61% were the most essential tools for enhancing access to farm inputs, market information and tea management information. However, extension agents 61% played a complementary role in unpacking and linking modern tea technologies from the source to farmers. A positive association was revealed between farmers’ literacy level and the use of MCTs, which influenced access to MCT. The study, recommended re-tooling agricultural information dissemination agents and farmers on the existing MCT to enhance effective communication, promoting tea production yields and accessing market information.

Current Scenario of Tea Garden Workers in Bangladesh: Time Demands to Stop the Zero-sum Game

The objective of this article is to highlight the latest phenomenon of tea garden laborers by outlining a dire picture of Bangladesh's tea industry. This article uses desk-based research and secondary data analysis to illustrate the current situation of Bangladeshi tea garden workers in the agro-business industry. To determine the real circumstances, the researchers studied several public interview quotes. It describes the current phenomenon of tea garden laborers to illustrate the inequality and injustice that exist in Bangladesh's agro-business sector. Researchers have discovered that because of their poor pay, the standard of living, and other rights, workers in tea gardens are less happy in the inflationary situation of Bangladesh. Researchers also discovered that both sides lacked accurate information. Researchers may get knowledge about the labor shortage in the tea sector, and professionals can gain knowledge about tea garden-related agro-business in Bangladesh. It is past time to go from a zero-sum game to a non-zero-sum game where everyone wins. For academics and practitioners, the results have significant implications.

An analysis of East African tea crop prices using the MCMC approach to estimate volatility and forecast the in-sample value-at-risk

In Eastern African countries, agriculture contributes significantly to the national economy. However, the prices of the essential crops fluctuate considerably due to climate change, the economic crisis, and surging food and fuel costs in the region. This paper aims to capture the dynamic volatility of tea crop prices, one of the region's most important cash crops. We applied the Markov-switching GARCH (MS-GARCH)-type specifications with different scedastic functions and error distributions to estimate volatility and forecast the in-sample value-at-risk (VaR) of tea price returns. This paper analyses monthly tea auction prices (i.e., Mombasa auction) in USD from January 1980 to June 2022. The parameters of the MS-GARCH model are estimated in a Bayesian framework via the MCMC approach. The findings evidenced that the EGARCH skewed Student-t model with three regimes was superior in estimating volatility. In terms of VaR evaluation, there is no superior method, but considering scedastic functions, fat tails, asymmetry, and regime switching is more effective. To manage volatility and risk in the East African tea sector, investors should consider regime switching GARCH models.

Suitability of botanical extracts as components of complex mixtures used in herbal tea infusions-challenges and opportunities.

Herbal tea is a mainstay dosage form in practically all systems of traditional medicine and widely used in modern alternative and complementary medicine. Incorporating botanical extracts into herbal tea formulations is of vital interest to manufacturers as it allows for the use of herbal ingredients that would otherwise not be suitable for the dosage form, for instance, dosing requirements, solubility in water, sensory constraints etc. Furthermore, reducing the amount of ingredients in a formula increases compliance with dosing recommendations and thus therapeutic benefit. However, formulating with botanical extracts comes with challenges, ranging from sourcing ingredients of appropriate quality, developing suitable methods for quality control with combinations of (herbal) ingredients, processing constraints such as hygroscopicity, solubility, dispersibility, homogeneity of distribution, and packaging machinability, all the way to stability required for hot-water infusion. We report on experiences with overcoming such challenges in a set of examples and provide guidance to the extract industry on how to tap into the bagged tea sector with better suited or tailor-made solutions for the formulator.

Corporate biodiversity management and organisational change mechanisms: The case of a tea producer in Sri Lanka

AbstractCorporate biodiversity management (CBDM) is a primary environmental concern in the food and beverage industry, especially the tea sector. However, the way tea‐producing companies pursue sustainable biodiversity management practices, and how these practices lead to organisational change at the lower tiers of the food supply chain remain under‐researched. Using alternative models of organisational change and data from interviews, field visits, and documents, this study analyses the practices adopted by a tea producer in a highly environmentally sensitive area in Sri Lanka, and how these practices have led to organisational change. The findings show that environmental disturbances in the tea industry's value chain primarily influence the organisation's design archetypes, in turn leading to CBDM through organisational subsystems and interpretive schemes. The study shows that adopting CBDM practices gradually and consistently leads to sustainable outcomes over time.

Moderating Effect of Ownership Structure on the Relationship between Working Capital Management Decisions and Financial Performance of Tea Firms in Kenya

Purpose: The general objective of this research study was to examine the moderating effect of ownership structure on the relationship between working capital management decisions and financial performance of tea firms in Kenya. Expansive research studies are available on the strategies employed by tea firms to boost their financial performances. However, Very minimal of these research studies are geared towards the contribution of working capital management decisions employed by these companies within the tea sector in Kenya.
 Methodology: The study employed a correlational research design. The data was collected was collected from the audited financial statements of all the multinationals and KTDA managed tea firms in Kericho, Bomet and Nandi counties of Kenya. The data was analyzed by employing both descriptive and inferential statistics.
 Findings: This research study revealed that there exists a moderating effect of ownership structure on the relationship between working capital management decisions and financial performance of tea firms in Kenya.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The research study recommended that the KTDA managed tea firms should be advised to adopt the strategies employed by multinational tea firms in order to boost and improve their financial performance. Tea firms are strongly cautioned against increasing accounts receivables period, accounts payables payment period and inventory conversion period because this would minimize their financial performance in the long-run.

Applications of Electronic Nose Coupled with Statistical and Intelligent Pattern Recognition Techniques for Monitoring Tea Quality: A Review

Tea is the most widely consumed non-alcoholic beverage worldwide. In the tea sector, the high demand for tea has led to an increase in the adulteration of superior tea grades. The procedure of evaluating tea quality is difficult to assure the highest degree of tea safety in the context of consumer preferences. In recent years, the advancement in sensor technology has replaced the human olfaction system with an artificial olfaction system, i.e., electronic noses (E-noses) for quality control of teas to differentiate the distinct aromas. Therefore, in this review, the potential applications of E-nose as a monitoring device for different teas have been investigated. The instrumentation, working principles, and different gas sensor types employed for E-nose applications have been introduced. The widely used statistical and intelligent pattern recognition methods, namely, PCA, LDA, PLS-DA, KNN, ANN, CNN, SVM, etc., have been discussed in detail. The challenges and the future trends for E-nose devices have also been highlighted. Overall, this review provides the insight that E-nose combined with an appropriate pattern recognition method is a powerful non-destructive tool for monitoring tea quality. In future, E-noses will undoubtedly reduce their shortcomings with improved detection accuracy and consistency by employing food quality testing.

DISCRIMINANT FACTORS IN THE CHOICES OF TEA PLANT CULTIVARS AMONG SMALLHOLDERS IN BADULLA DISTRICT: MULTIPLE DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS

This study employed multiple discriminant analysis to examine whether significant differences exist among the different group of tea smallholders in terms of their demographic and farming characteristics and to identify the significant factors influencing in the selection of different tea plant cultivars in Badulla district. The data were collected during the period November to December in 2019 and a sample of 108 tea smallholders has been randomly selected from three major tea producing regions namely Badulla, Haliela and Bandarawela divisions of the Uva region in the district. Frequency analysis reveals that, 43.5% of the tea smallholders chose VP 20/25 while 29.6% and 26.9% of them chose VP 20/23 and CY 9 cultivars respectively. Multiple discriminant analysis showed that, output from each tea plant cultivars and prices of each tea cultivar were the major discriminating variables as well as important influencing factors in selecting tea plant cultivars. Results of Fisher's linear discriminant functions revealed that as output increases, tea small holders are more likely to choose the cultivars VP20/25 and VP20/23 while less likely to select the CY9 cultivar. Similarly, as the price of the tea cultivar increases, they are more likely to adopt the CY9 cultivar than other two in the study. The classification results revealed that 56% of the respondents were correctly classified into three different groups of tea smallholders and the estimated discriminant functions for CY9 (96.6%) and VP 20/23(62.5%) were classified with better accuracy than another group in the study. The findings of the study may assist the tea smallholders in understanding the critical factors in the selection of tea plant cultivars and guide the policymakers to take effective measures in the tea sector in the future.
 
 Keywords: Choices of Tea Plant Cultivars, Demographic and Farming Characteristics, Fisher's Linear Discriminant Functions, Multiple Discriminant Analysis, Tea Smallholders

Impact of nontariff measures on the exports of the beverage sector in India

In the recent past, agricultural exports, especially plantation crops, which are the backbone of India, have been subjected to many nontariff measures. Since the liberalisation of trade has led to the integration of global commodity markets, developing countries are significantly affected by these trade barriers, which indirectly hurt millions of plantation community. Traditionally, India is well known for its exports of beverages and stringent maximum residual limits, traceability issues, and food safety standards are complex issues surmounting trade in the plantation sector around the world. Hence, the present research study attempts to find the shock of nontariff measures on the prices of both export and domestic beverages and the hammering in returns to the Indian beverage industry by the partial equilibrium method. This model directly measures the simulation effect of nontariff measures by imposing NTM on tea and coffee sector. It is obvious that as the NTM percent increases from 10 percent to 25 percent on tea sector, the loss in export quantity was more from 22.24 million kg to 55.61 million kg and loss of revenue was from Rs. 2997 million to Rs. 7492 million for the corresponding NTMs. Likewise the loss in export quantity (62.85 million kg) and loss in revenue (Rs. 9412 million) were high in 25 per cent of NTM. The present study shows how to allow for market imperfections and trade facilitating effects of nontariff measures in the beverage sector.

Significance of Financial and Non-financial Incentives in Shaping Employee Motivation in Tea Industry: A Sri Lankan Case Study

Sri Lankan Tea sector is experiencing a considerable decline in the labor force, as many workers are moving away from the tea plantations. Incentives are one of the prime factors in reducing labor turnover. However, the role of incentives in employee motivation in the tea sector is questionable. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to identify the role of financial and non-financial incentives in motivating employees in the tea sector in Sri Lanka. Data were collected using pre-tested structured questionnaires from all 60 tea factory workers in Morapitiya Tea Factory, Sri Lanka. In the data analysis, Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test results revealed, bonuses (test value=7.285), over-time payments (test value=7.208), granting EPF/ETF (test value=6.822), job security (test value=7.039), recognition (test value=6.647), positive working environment (test value=6.659) and promotion and career growth (test value=6.548) proven to have a significant (

Organic cultivation and sustainable value chain development for tea smallholders: Findings from Assam, India

Tea smallholders form a significant part of the global tea industry. They support the rural economy in several tea-producing regions in the world. However, their limited role in the tea value chain and numerous other issues pose major challenges to promote sustainability in the smallholders' tea sector. Of late, it has been observed that the adoption of organic cultivation has encouraged some of the tea smallholders to involve in the processing and marketing of tea, enabling the development of an alternative value chain. Based on the premise that value chain development is crucial to improve the smallholders' situation, we follow a mixed methods research approach to draw upon the recent developments in the tea sub-sector in Assam, India. The findings indicate the potential for the development of sustainable and inclusive value chain for the tea smallholders. However, such progress would requisite encouraging more growers to participate in the value chain, and mobilizing and organizing them towards collective actions through suitable institutional arrangements like producer organizations. Further, policy measures focusing on better governance of the smallholders' collectives, building trust, and creating value networks through strategic collaboration would be crucial to empower the growers and promote sustainability in the smallholders' tea production sector.

Effect of Accounts Receivables Collection Period on Financial Performance of Tea Firms in Kenya

Corporate failure among companies in Kenya has often been associated with their financial management decisions. The objective of all financial management decisions is wealth maximization and the immediate way of measuring quality of such decisions is to examine its effect on the firm's financial performance. Accounts receivable collection period being one of such decisions is considered as fundamental in any business and has significant impact on the financial performance and overall value of a company. This study aimed to provide empirical evidence about the impact of Accounts receivable collection period on corporate financial Performance of tea firms in Kenya for the period 2014 to 2019. The study utilized panel data econometrics of 40 tea firms which are in Kericho, Bomet and Nandi Counties in Kenya. The results indicate that accounts receivables in days are significantly affecting the financial performance of the firms. The tea firms are in general facing problems with their collection policies. Similarly, the financial leverage, sales growth and firm size also have significant effect on the firm’s profitability. The study also concludes that tea firms in Kenya are following conservative accounts receivables management policy and the firms are needed to concentrate and improve their collection and payment policy. The effective policies must be formulated for the individual components of accounts recivables. In addition, efficient Management and financing of accounts recivables can increase the operating profitability of tea firms. For efficient accounts receivable collection period, specialized persons in the fields of finance should be hired by the firms for expert advice on receivables management in the tea firms. This study will assist decisions makers to implement new set of policies regarding accounts receivable management in Kenya to ensure continuous economic growth. It will help to meet the need of management accountants, academia, and students who will be interested in this study. Other researchers on corporate governance will find useful information from this study, it will also add to the existing literature on the topic. Keywords: Net Trade Cycle, Average Collection Period, Average Payment Period, Tea sector, Fixed Effect Model, Random Effect Model. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/13-8-01 Publication date: April 30 th 2022

The relationship between Product Innovative Strategies and Performance of Kenya Tea Development Agency Factories in Kenya

Kenya Tea Development Agency’s primary role is to collect plucked tea, process and market tea products on behalf of farmers. Despite the crucial role it plays in Kenya’s economy, the tea sector still faces various challenges such as high cost of production, fluctuations in the international market, and emerging issues such as COVID-19 pandemic. To effectively improve the performance of the tea industry, product innovative strategy practices are widely acknowledged for improving productivity and competitiveness in the sector. This study aimed at establishing the relationship between product innovative strategies and performance of KTDA factories in Kenya. It was premised on Schumpeterian theory of innovation and Discovery theory. A correlational and cross-sectional research design was adopted in this study. The target population was 974 employees from 71 KTDA factories in Kenya. A sample of 283 respondents was drawn from four regions using a stratified sampling method. The main instrument of data collection was a semi-structured questionnaire administered to top, middle, and lower-level employees of KTDA factories in Kenya. The questionnaire was pre-tested to ensure its validity and reliability. An aggregate Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.703 was obtained. Multiple linear regression and model was employed to determine the significance of the hypothesis. The findings revealed that product innovative strategies (β = 0.695, R=0.748, p<0.05) had a positive and significant relationship with performance of KTDA. The study recommends that stakeholders and interested parties in the industry should make policies that goes toward operationalizing product innovative strategies. The findings may be useful to the industry stakeholders in formulating product innovative strategies that will help improve their fortunes.

Total Factor Productivity, Efficiency, and Technical Change in Large Scale Tea Estates in Sri Lanka

This paper applied a stochastic frontier model to measure total factor productivity growth, technical efficiency change, and technical change in tea production in the estate sector in Sri Lanka. Monthly data from 35 tea estates relating to the period 2005 to 2019 were used. Two functional forms with two distributional assumptions were tested. A Translog production frontier with the inefficiency term distributed as a truncated normal distribution was found to be the best fit for data. Results revealed that on average estate sector tea production operates 48% below the potential output indicating possibilities of increasing performance without any significant changes in inputs. Further, the overall rate of technical progress was estimated at 0.002 percent per year. The overall rate of technical efficiency change declined by 0.013 percent per year. The combined effect of slow technical progress, dominated by the fall in technical efficiency resulted in the decline in the total factor productivity in the corporate tea sector at a rate of 0.002 percent per year. This net effect of declining Total Factor Productivity raises concerns about the sustainability of the tea sector in Sri Lanka in the long run. Policies to shift up the production frontier and improvements in managerial practices to combat declining efficiency levels are recommended.