Thus, PT KPBN is targeting sales of 52,000 tons this year. This target is in line with the increasing production figures for tea managed by PT KPBN's parent company, PT Perkebunan Nusantara III (a plantation holding company), and the expansion of export markets. KPBN Operations Director Ery Erwin Efendi said that his company will focus increasingly on expanding existing export markets and creating new markets throughout 2018. PT KPBN has set an export target of 17,457 tons, or 33% of total sales this year. This figure represents a 10% increase over last year's export volume of 15,870 tons. "[For] 2018, with increasing volume we will open up new markets. Some of these markets have actually existed for a long time, but not directly," said Eri when contacted by Bisnis, Tuesday (13/2). He explained that Indonesian tea has actually long been exported to markets such as Malaysia and Pakistan. But most of these exports were made by traders who purchased the tea at auction or at the Jakarta Tea Auction (JTA). In the future, his company intends to be able to enter these export markets directly, without going through domestic auctions. Regarding new markets, PT KPBN will target several export destinations such as countries in South Asia, member states of the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States]/breakaway Soviet states, and Africa. Sales to these markets are targeted to reach 700-1,000 tons this year. Ery also said that his company has visited several other countries, such as Dubai, India and Pakistan, which are also being considered as direct markets for KPBN tea exports. The company will also strengthen the European market, which recently has been weakened by the issue of the anthraquinone limit. According to Ery, some of the tea products managed by the company's parent company in West Java have fulfilled the anthraquinone content requirements as specified by the European Union. Ery explained that achievement of these figures will be driven by increased production and, most importantly, the quality of Indonesian tea. Ery explained that Indonesian tea, which up to this point has been exported abroad by traders, still lags behind in terms of quality compared to the products of other large producing countries, such as India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Turkey. Besides the expansion of export markets, domestic market absorption is also expected to increase. Ery explained that domestic tea consumption has always been high. This year, domestic sales volume is targeted to increase 26.85% to 34,543 tons. Ery explained that at this time, the majority of Indonesian tea consumers still prefer orthodox black tea, which is processed using a mixture of manual techniques and machines. QUALITY Meanwhile, based on data from the Ministry of Agriculture, domestic tea production for this year is predicted to increase to 140,084 tons, with a cultivated area of 113,808 hectares (ha). This figure represents an increase of just 0.52% compared to the provisional production figure from last year. The Ministry of Agriculture's Director General of Plantations, Bambang, acknowledged that despite the growth, the increase in domestic tea production, which is less than 1% compared to last year, is indeed very small. However, he explained that increased production must also consider the needs of the international market and the quality of domestic tea, so that demand can continue to increase. "Yes it is still small, but we are directing it towards quality. There is still an increase, but we are also considering the needs of the international market," he said. Therefore, Indonesia must also improve its image, followed by promotion of its tea abroad. However, before this can be realized, improvement of the image of tea must start domestically with efforts to increase quality and local consumption. Thus, his office supports cooperation between private industry and smallholder tea farmers in order to advance the quality of domestic tea. Additionally, his office will also distribute assistance for the rejuvenation of tea in smallholder plantations. Bambang said that this year the Ministry of Agriculture will distribute funds amounting to Rp6.7 billion to intensify 215 ha of tea plantations in 1 district/municipality and rehabilitate 1,000 ha in 7 districts/municipalities in 2 provinces. [juli.etha@bisnis.com] Source: http://koran.bisnis.com/read/20180214/452/738418/penjualan-teh-ptpn-pasar-ekspor-jadi-pendorong
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