The effects of changes in the labour force on Taiwanese Tea production.

A factor in recent years that has caused a decline in small scale tea production is the diminishing labor resources - namely, tea pickers. Part of the scarcity of tea pickers is the result of large farms and factories usurping the labor force for their own purposes which was previously more available for hire to smaller farms. There is also a more general shift in the rural demographics where the population of tea pickers is aging and not being replaced by the new generation which has gravitated toward more urban, modern lifestyles and living standards.