Indonesia Tea Exports Reach Malaysia and Taiwan

 JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – PT Mitra Kerinci is exporting its quality black tea and green tea to Taiwan and Malaysia.

The Indonesian company is the subsidiary of state-owned enterprise, PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia, or commonly known as RNI.

It exports its black tea, which uses a combination of tea leaves of different grades, to its buyer South Asiatic Taiwan.

Read also: Many Indonesians Find It Difficult To Drink Coffee Without Sugar

Mitra Kerinci’s green tea has a fanning tea grade and is exported to a Malaysian tea manufacturing company, Sheriff Tea.

In a press statement, Mitra Kerinci Director Ondo said that the 24.5 tons of tea for export have been flown out of the farm in Liki, West Sumatra to Belawan Port.

According to Ondo, this is the first tea export shipment in 2020 since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Read also: Indonesian Economy Projected to Shrink 3.9 percent If Second Wave Hits

Last year, Mitra Kerinci regularly exported its tea to Taiwan and other countries.

“Every year, we would receive an order from Taiwan for black tea with a selected tea leaf grading combined with ingredients to make a local tea-based drink product. Exports to Taiwan is part of a business partnership between Mitra Kerinci and our buyer, South Asiatic Taiwan,” said Ondo.

Mitra Kerinci’s green tea has obtained the fanning grade which is a tea grade ideal for teabags. This green tea variant is shipped to Sheriff Tea in Malaysia.

“This is Mitra Kerinci’s first time to export green tea to Malaysia. During the initial process working with Sheriff Tea, they carried out research and a site visit to our tea plantation in Liki,” said Ondo.

Of Mitra Kerinci's 24.5 tons of tea exports, 23.5 tons of black tea were sold to Taiwan. The remaining 1 ton of green tea went to Malaysia.

Read also: Maker of Indomie Posts Net Profit Gain during Coronavirus Pandemic

Going forward, exports to Taiwan will be divided into several shipping phases.

“Next month we will carry out our second and third export shipment of around 23-25 tons of team per shipment,” said Ondo.

Merger

Indonesia’s Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir plans to merge Perum Bulog with PTPN and RNI as the enterprises specialize in food production. The statement was made on May 22.

The merger is a response to the high price of sugar in the market.

This highlights a significant concern of Indonesia’s food industry which is reliant on imports.

The Minister is confident that the merger will boost Indonesia's food security goals. 

(Writer: Fika Nurul Ulya | Editor: Bambang P. Jatmiko, Erlangga Djumena) 

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/06/29/161719726/anak-usaha-rni-ekspor-teh-ke-malaysia-dan-taiwan

https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/05/22/160144126/erick-thohir-bakal-gabungkan-bulog-dengan-ptpn-dan-rni