JAKARTA. Tea industry players asked the government to apply non-tariff barriers to block the onslaught of tea imports. This can be done by imposing standards or tightening the quality of tea imports.
Dede Kusdiman, General Chair of the Indonesian Tea Association (ATI) asked that regulations on tea imports be made like tea exports. For tea exports, the regulations are fairly strict, such as having to have an ISO 9000 certificate. Meanwhile, for tea imports, there are no regulatory certifications that importers must comply with.
“Tea imports from abroad have been increasing in Indonesia because they have not checked standards or residue limits (pesticide),” said Dede, Tuesday (11/26).
The tightening of tea import regulations will help the domestic industry to produce quality tea. This is because if imported tea is affected by pesticides and then mixed with local tea, it will have an impact on the quality of the tea. “If later it is found that there is pesticide residue, that will be affected by Indonesia,” Dede warned.
Equivalent to Dedi, Dadi Sunardi, Main Director of PTPN VIII, said that the tightening of tea imports would protect the local industry. “The domestic tea industry will progress,” said Dedi.
The Indonesian Tea Council estimates that this year’s tea imports will reach 25,000 tons. This figure is almost the same as last year which reached 24,400 tons. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s tea production last year was 137,000 tons. This year, Indonesia’s tea production is estimated to be around 140,000 tons.
Rusman Heriawan, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, said the government will support the national tea industry. This year, the allocation for tea is only Rp 5 billion.
Next year, the tea budget from the State Budget (APBN) will increase to IDR 48 billion. “Now what is important is (improving) the quality of Indonesian tea,” said Rusman.
The budget will be used to improve the smallholders tea plantations. So that the production costs of tea farmers can be reduced. Despite the low price, tea farmers still have a passion for planting because tea has economic value.
In addition, the reduced production costs have enabled industry players to make tea from Indonesia to compete with other countries. “Currently, the price of Indonesian tea is quite expensive,” he said.
Source: http://industri.kontan.co.id/news/pengusaha-desak-pemerintah-perketat-impor-teh/2013/11/27
