In general, Indonesia's Tea Export Performance is Experiencing Slowdown

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta- Based on data from the International Tea Committee, global tea consumption in 2010 jumped 60 percent compared to 1993. The significant growth of this commodity is predicted to continue because the world community is increasingly aware of the health benefits of tea.

In general, Indonesia's tea export performance is slowing down. It is characterized by a declining export share, low Indonesian tea prices, and import policies imposed by export destination countries.

The volume and value of Indonesian tea exports to the EU averaged a 20 percent decline over the past five years.

Based on information from the Ministry of Trade, one of the EU import policies that hampered Indonesian tea exports to the region is the European Commission Regulation No. 1146/2014, issued by the European Union on October 23, 2014 and effective starting May 18, 2015.

The policy has also affected the decline in the volume and value of Indonesian tea exports to the EU.

The regulation requires a residual AQ threshold of 0.02 mg / kg of dry tea leaves on the grounds of protecting tea consumers from the dangers of carcinogenic diseases. The basic determination of this regulation is the precautionary principle.

The Indonesian government sees that the AQ threshold determination is only determined by default by using the lowest limit of an analytical method for assay.

The determination of the threshold was also not based on risk analysis because no risk analysis document for AQ by European Food Safety Authority was found.