KARAMEHMETOĞLU: WE RANK FIFTH IN TEA PRODUCTION BUT TEA IMPORTS INCREASING
China ranks first in world tea production with 2.27 million tons, India comes second with 1.21 million tons and then Kenya third with 475 thousand tons, Sri Lanka fourth with 329 thousand tons. Turkey ranks fifth with 260 thousand tons... Tea production in Turkey mostly made on the coast of Black Sea in Rize, Trabzon, Giresun and Artvin provinces. According to data of the Tea Specialized Customs in Rize, where 65 percent of the production in the region is made and identified with tea, 17 thousand 260 tons of dry tea were imported last year. With this number, Rize ranked first among the provinces ranking that imports the most tea. Meanwhile high numbers of dry tea imports, of which 47 million dollars went abroad, also worried tea producers. Nuriye Terzi, one of the producers, said, "Our tea is enough for us, why does imported tea come from foreign countries? We have very special, organic tea, this tea is more than enough for us. Why do they not drink our tea that we produ...