NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The world tea production continued to reach new high last year with output growing by more than 3 percent to reach an estimated 3.5 million tons, it was learned at an international tea conference which began in Nairobi.

Kaison Chalg, UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)'s senior commodity expert, said record harvest of tea in China, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka and Kenya were behind this growth, which more than offset the declines in other major producing countries, including Indonesia and Malawi.

He was speaking during the opening of the week-long International Tea Business Conference organized jointly by the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) and FAO. The meeting brought together more than 250 tea producers, processors, consumers, researchers and regulatory agencies from 47 countries around the world.

According to Chalg, tea exports expanded only marginally in 2005, as net exports reached 1.53 million tons from 1.52 million tons the previous year.

Kenya's Agriculture Minister Kipruto Kirwa called on top tea producers to concentrate on growing top quality teas to boost prices that have been depressed in the last few years by a glut in the global market.

"Tea producing countries can also explore new markets, diversify tea products, and stimulate local consumption to absorb the excess tea in the market. These countries can endeavor to produce high quality teas to overcome the flooding of markets by low quality teas," said Kirwa.