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Producer promises to improve Indonesian tea quality
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An official writes down information on a special bag containing a tea sample inside a tea archive room belonging to state-owned tea and coffee distributor PT Kharisma Pemasaran Bersama Nusantara. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
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ocal tea producer PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) says it promises to improve its manufacturing techniques to produce better quality tea as an effort to boost sales both in local and international markets.
“The manufacturing techniques to improve the quality [of tea] are things such as allocating more funds for fertilizer,” PTPN III Holdings’ president director Elia Massa Manik said on Wednesday, adding that in 2016, the company spent approximately Rp 2.5 trillion (US$192 million) for fertilizer.
The first weekly tea auction of the year took place on Wednesday at the Kharisma Pemasaran Bersama Nusantara (KPBN) headquarters, with PTPN’s tea products CTC and Orthodox going on sale.
In 2016, only 32 percent of Indonesian tea was exported, which was much lower if compared to 2008 at almost 100 percent.
Imports, however, are still constant as the biggest bulk of imported tea to Indonesia comes from Argentina, India, Iran, Kenya and Vietnam.
KPBN president director Iriana Ekasari said the reason that local tea had not been performing well even in the local market was mainly because of the lack of pricing controls.
“For one, the teas at this auction are pretty cheap. There isn’t much appreciation for the price and therefore the whole process of production,” she said. (bbn)
