Oh no! The irony of tea in the land of spices still continues. The January 14, 2012 edition of Kompas published an overview on the main page about the plight of tea in this country which continues to decline, starting from the aspect of cultivation, production volume which is affected by the narrowing of tea plantation areas due to being marginalized by oil palm and vegetables, to the lower competitiveness of tea exports.
Even though it is acknowledged, the role of the tea commodity in the Indonesian economy is very strategic. During the Dutch colonial era alone, the tea industry was able to absorb 1.5 million workers and support around 6 million people. Of course, after being released from the shackles of slavery and oppression, it is certain that the tea industry will be able to provide jobs for millions of people and provide a living many times over from the previous era.
In addition, tea contributed net foreign exchange of around US$178 million in 2010. Between 1997 and 2001, the tea industry contributed around US$110 million per year. This indicates that it is undeniable that tea has become an economic pillar as well as a part of this nation’s culture for decades.
Little information, the story of tea in Indonesia started from Andreas Cleyer. In 1648, he brought it to Indonesia as an ornamental plant in the Batavia area (now called Jakarta). Then, decades later, in 1728 to be precise, the Dutch trading company, Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), brought tea seeds and Chinese laborers to Java.
In 1828, Jacobson brought tea seeds from Japan to Indonesia and cultivated them. Since then, the tea plantation business began to grow rapidly. Especially because it gave a big advantage to the Dutch East Indies government. To the extent that Governor Van Den Bosch stipulated the tea plant as one of the commodities in the cultuur stelsel (forced cultivation) system. Since then, the tea business in Indonesia controlled by the Dutch dominates the world market share because tea from the Dutch East Indies is known to have specialties and advantages.
The land geographical condition of West Java supports the development of the tea plantation business. So, in 1936 there were 293 tea plantations in Indonesia, 247 of which were in West Java. Unfortunately, in the last 10 years, tea agribusiness has experienced a decline in area and production volume.
In 2003 national tea production could reach 169,000 tons but in 2010 it fell to 129,200 tons. The decline in production occurred due to the conversion of tea farms to oil palm and vegetables. The planted area also decreased from 157,000 hectares in 1998 to 124,400 hectares in 2010 (Kompas, 14/1). It’s a shame!
Data from the Directorate General of Plantations of the Ministry of Agriculture in 2002 showed that the total area of tea plantations in Indonesia had reached 157,000 hectares, consisting of tea plantations belonging to state-owned companies around 49,000 hectares, private 43,000 hectares, and farmers 66,000 hectares. About 70 percent of the tea plantations are in West Java, the land of Pasundan.
Whereas in 2009, out of 123,506 hectares of tea plantations in Indonesia, 78.2 percent or 96,652 hectares were located in West Java. West Java’s tea production reached 111,721 tons or 71.2 percent of Indonesia’s tea production which reached 156,901 tons. The area of smallholder tea plantations in West Java is recorded at 49,651 hectares or 51.3 percent of the total tea plantations in West Java, 31 percent are state-owned, and the rest are private plantations.
From this it is clear that tea is Indonesia’s main export commodity from West Java. Unfortunately, we are not good at controlling the world market share. Indonesia’s tea export value share of all types of tea in 2001 reached 3.9 percent. From the data on the dominance of the export value share of all types of tea, Indonesia is the sixth largest tea exporting country in the world after India (18.9%), China (17.1%), Kenya (7.9%), England (7. .9%), and the United Arab Emirates (4%). With the hope, a little harder work will increase Indonesia’s bargaining position to be more advanced in the following year.
Unfortunately, between expectations and reality far adrift. We are inconsistent in advancing the country’s tea industry. The government does not fully support the hard work of tea smallholders in West Java. As a result, the share of Indonesia’s tea export value has decreased drastically. When compared with 1997, which reached 5.4 percent. Far adrift in 2001 which only achieved a score of 3.9.
The period from 2002 to 2010 has clearly declined as plantation areas have narrowed, the spirit of cultivation has weakened, and weak distribution and export competitiveness in the world. Indonesia is lagging behind Sri Lanka, which was able to achieve a score of 14 (in 1997) and a score of 15 (in 2001) for the share of the export value of all types of tea. In fact, Sri Lanka is not more fertile than our land.
Even more sad, the growth of Indonesia’s tea exports is far below the growth of world tea exports, even experiencing negative growth (-0.0259), product composition (-0.032), distribution (-0.045), and very weak tea competitiveness as reflected in the negative competition factor (-0.211). This is terrible. The numbers are getting worse, while the standard for world tea exports growth is: 0.029. (Journal of Agro Economics, Volume 23 No.1, May 2005: 1-29).
Export volume fluctuations and our tea prices are always lower. And that low price is a far cry from what Sri Lanka has achieved. The problem lies not only in the aspect of cultivation, but the government’s neglect in building an Indonesian tea society. So far, the government has not wholeheartedly supported the tea community, especially West Java.
If this decline continues, and is not promptly responded to, the aftermath could lead to the destruction of Indonesian tea. Of course, the impact will be huge. Not only will thousands of farmers lose their jobs, or millions of plantation workers lose their income, but the country as a whole will also suffer a huge loss.
This is something to anticipate. Tea is not only about plants to drink. Not even about cultivation. But this is about the inheritance of the spirit. As part of the culture where we have triumphed in the tea plantation industry. If one day it becomes extinct, what will we tell our generation? What else is the use of being called the land of spices but clumsy in tea? Where must the face of this nation hide?
Source: http://www.bumn.go.id
