Batang’s tea products expand to Asian, European markets

BATANG, Dec 17, 2019, ANTARA. Tea products of farmers who had joined the Sekar Langit Small Business Group in Batang District, Central Java, are being promoted in the Asian and European markets. The head of the group, Kasmuri, told ANTARA on Monday that in the beginning all the farmers were just conventionally processing the tea. However, by using technology, they are now able to produce exported-quality tea products, ANTARA reported.

“Nearly 700 kilograms per month could be sold to countries such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands,” Kasmuri said.

The products consist of different tea varieties such as green tea, black tea, oolong tea, purwaceng herbal tea, lemongrass tea, and white tea which is more expensive among others because of its unique organic taste.

To make the special white tea, one needs tea leaf shoots that have not yet bloomed to be plucked before sunrise. This type of tea is believed to detoxify the human body as well as manage cancer cells and cure diabetes.

Tea products are priced at Rp35 thousand (around US$2.5) per kilogram, while white tea could reach Rp2 million (around US$143) for a kilogram.

Since export activities still depend on a third party, the head of the local trade agency, Subiyanto, said that the government is currently working to have Sekar Langit Group manage its export process independently.

“Local government is planning to invite exporters to provide training to tea farmers on how they could export their products without any help from a third party,” he noted.