Tea as one of the national potential commodities needs more attention from various stakeholders. Efforts to improve from upstream to downstream need to be intensified so that the industry can be revived and become a leading commodity to grow national income. Domestic tea production in recent years has tended to decline due to reduction in plantation area. Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) show that the production of dry tea leaves in the country has fluctuated in the last 5 years.
The highest production of dry tea leaves was 154,369 tons which occurred in 2014. After that, domestic tea production only stuck in the range of 130,000-140,000. In fact, production has only touched the 140,000 tons mark once, namely in 2017.
In contrast to domestic production, which is still fluctuating, the area of tea plantations in the country has steadily decreased in the last 5 years. It was recorded that the area of tea plantations in 2014, which reached 118,899 hectares (ha), decreased to 104,420 hectares in 2018.
Director General of Agro Industry of the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) Abdul Rochim explained, the reduction in the area of tea plantations in the country in the last 5 years occurred because the growers were less motivated, because there was a Primary Product Value Added Tax (VAT) (charged) for tea. According to him, it is hoped that the proposed exemption of Primary Product VAT for tea will be approved as part of continuing to increase domestic tea. “Along with other commodities such as cocoa, the proposal for VAT exemption for primary tea products has been submitted through the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy,” he said.
This incentive is expected to revive the national tea industry because global demand for tea and tea prices always increase every year in various directions. However, only Indonesian tea whose price continues to decline. “This is very sad,” he said. This condition, he continued, needs to be addressed with an initial step in the form of stopping the conversion of productive tea land in zone I of the tea agro-climate. Then, replace the land that has been converted using vacant forest land.
He explained, the concept is a community-owned enterprise (Badan Usaha Milik Rakyat/BUMR) which organizes smallholders in a formal business institution, to partner with Private-owned Plantations (PBS) or State-owned Plantations (PBN). In addition, it is necessary to provide facilities to penetrate the export market such as exhibitions at home country and abroad. Currently, the government is preparing a number of steps related to the domestic tea industry such as the national tea consumption movement, and other fiscal incentives that can stimulate this industry—especially in the upstream.
The opportunity to increase Indonesia’s tea exports is still considered high, especially to the mainstay countries such as Malaysia, Russia, Germany, the United States, Pakistan, and so on.
He believes tea exports will have the opportunity to increase if the quality of tea production in the country – especially from PBN recovers as before. The government targets domestic tea exports to increase by 10 percent this year. “Especially for new markets in Eastern Europe and emerging markets in the Middle East and China.”
PRODUCTION DECREASE
Meanwhile, the Director General of Plantations of the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) Kasdi Subagyo showed data that domestic tea production throughout 2019 was lower than 2018. Throughout 2019, total domestic tea production reached 137,902 tonnes or 1.74% lower than with production throughout 2018 reaching 140,236 tons.
All production, including community plantations, large state plantations, and large private plantations, showed a decline throughout 2019. The largest decline occurred in the large private plantation group which reached 2.54% to 34,560 tons.
Source: https://kemenperin.go.id/artikel/21499/Menggairahkan-Kembali-Industri-Teh-Nasional
