Hilmy Cader, chief executive of MTI Consulting, said his international management consultancy based in Bahrain had observed a change in tea consumption patterns in the Middle East.
"Tea, other than iced tea, is still having major challenges in appealing to the younger generation," he told an international tea convention in Colombo.
"A lot of what we do is in the Middle East and we're clearly seeing a shift away of the younger generation of Arabs moving away from tea which their fathers and grand parents consume and which formed your major market.
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The Middle East is the biggest regional market for Sri Lankan tea next to Russia and the former Soviet states.
In the period January - November 2011, Russia remained the top export markets for Sri Lanka, followed by Iran, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Turkey.
A key reason for the fall in tea prices in 2011, especially for the island's low grown teas which make up the bulk of output, was the political unrest in the Middle Eas