A Parliamentary panel has suggested the department of Commerce to consider declaring tea as the national drink and accord due prominence in promoting it to boost export revenues.The panel headed by Mr Shanta Kumar said in its report after interacting with stakeholders in tea and coffee growing areas that the plantation crops –tea and coffee– should come up in newer areas as they provide gainful employment to large number of people in remote areas besides being the source of revenue and foreign exchange. The panel recommended that the department must get into the root cause of the decline of tea production during 2007-10. On the coffee sector, the panel said that the department should promote Arabica production through incentives for replantation and new plantings in newer areas especially in the North-Eastern states.