Indonesian Tea Ready to Compete in AFTA

Indonesian Tea Ready to Compete in AFTA

Share

Bandung: Indonesian tea products are more ready to welcome the ASEAN free market in 2015 than products from other sectors. This was disclosed by the Advisor of the Indonesian Tea Association, Insyaf Malik, in Bandung, Wednesday (15/5). He said, tea producers in Indonesia have more experience than other countries in ASEAN, and even become leaders in the region. “In ASEAN, Indonesia’s tea product is the highest. Another country that has tea plantations is Vietnam. But overall, from a production and quality standpoint, we are more prepared,” said Malik.

Furthermore, he mentioned that standardization and improvement of the quality of tea products had been carried out for a long time, and continued to be encouraged to produce with principles that encourage competitiveness and quality.

In terms of quality, there are no problems and has received local recognition. Indonesian tea has been able to compete on the international stage by exporting to a number of countries in the world such as the United States, Europe and the Middle East. “Innovations continue to be made in product processing so that it has added value and is competitive, tea certification continues to be maintained so that the product remains at the forefront of the market,” he said.

The main competitor in the ASEAN Region is Vietnam which produces tea at low prices due to low tea plantation wages.

“Perhaps competition with Vietnam occurs even though each has its own market. In terms of quality, it is very competitive,” he said. National tea production is still normal although in some areas there is a reduction in area. “Production has not changed in the last two years because there is no extreme weather. For example, from January to April 2013, national tea production has reached 40 thousand to 45 thousand tons,” he said.

Of the total production, around 70% of the tea is produced on plantations in West Java. “As much as 70% of national tea production comes from plantations in West Java, both state plantations and smallholders tea,” he added.

On the other hand, Indonesia has won the trust of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for a program to develop the quality and quantity of smallholders tea. The program, which has been rolled out through the Indonesian Tea Council, has been carried out since 2012 with a target of increasing smallholders tea.

“Indonesia, as the leader of the FAO program, is also handling program development for tea smallholders in Bangladesh,” concluded Malik who is also a Senior Member of the Indonesian Tea Council. (Ant)

Sebelumnya

Indonesia’s Tea Production Ranked 5 Globally

Selanjutnya

Indonesian Tea Imports Soar