BATANG, Central Java: The Indonesian Tea Council (DTI) targets that in the next eight years all smallholder tea plantations will receive Lestari certification to increase the added value and competitiveness of national tea products in the local and export markets. DTI’s Industry Section Chief, Rachmad Gunadi said tea certification is a demand from global consumers for the safety and sustainability of tea production which must be environmentally and socially friendly.
“Tea products that are Lestari certified are easier to enter the market because they have fulfilled 75% -80% of international certification requirements, such as UTZ or Rainforest Alliance which are required by world tea exporters,” he said during the handover of the Lestari certificate to Sidoharjo Smallholders Tea Plantation as the result of cooperation between PT Pagilaran and Multipupose Cooperative, Bawang District, Batang Regency, Central Java, today.
The recognition of the Lestari certification from DTI was accompanied by the launch of the Kepodang brand tea product made from Sidoharjo smallholders tea by Central Java Governor Bibit Waluyo. Kepodang is the first tea product with sustainable certification in Indonesia.
According to Gunadi, DTI is targeting a national Lestari certification program for smallholders tea plantations to be completed in the next eight years according to the replanting cycle (replanting/rejuvenation) of old tea plantations up to the optimal production period.
“Without certification, the price of national tea shoots will still be stuck at US$1.7 per kg, whereas currently certified tea from other countries, such as India, China and Vietnam, on the world market, averages more than US$2 per kg,” he said.
Even so, Gunadi said, preparing for certification required a large amount of money. PT Pagilaran must spend at least IDR 1 billion to prepare the 1,700 ha Sidoharjo plantation so that it passed Lestari certification.
Chairperson of the Indonesian Tea Growers Association (Aptehindo) Endang Sopari revealed that in order to achieve Lestari certification, currently farmers are experiencing capital constraints to increase the population from around 4,000 stems per ha to 6,000 stems per ha.
According to him, the cost of planting tea to increase the population reaches IDR 17,000 per 100 stems.
“This increase in population is to boost the productivity of smallholders tea plantation from currently only 800 kg-1 ton per ha per year to 2 tons per year compared to large plantations which reach 2.4 tons,” he said.
Coordinator of Indonesia’s National Reference Group On Tea (NRG), Iyus Supriyatna, added that low production of smallholders tea only contributes 23% to the total national tea production of 120,000 tons per year.
“While in terms of land actually, these smallholders plantations cover an area of 57,000 ha or 60% of the total national tea plantation area,” he said.
Domi Savio. W, Coordinator of Solidaridad Indonesia—a donor agency that focuses on the tea sector—added that tea is now the second strategic beverage commodity after water with high economic value.
He explained that the implementation of sustainability standards at the international level since 2008 such as the Rainforest Alliance and the UTZ Certificate have been active in the Indonesian tea sector along with ethical tea partnerships and fair trade targeting tea exporting companies.
“The standard targets economic, social and environmental issues in a systematic way. So like it or not, all world tea producers will follow this consumer demand,” he said.
In addition to the export market, he explained, Indonesia has the opportunity to boost the level of domestic tea consumption which is currently 300 g/person/year, compared to the world average of 1 kg/person/year.
This condition, he said, resulted in Indonesia’s tea exports reaching 90,000 tons per year or 70% more than national tea production.
He said that if national tea consumption could be increased, the amount of tea to be exported would be minimal, resulting in reduced world tea stocks and soaring domestic tea prices.