Tea auctioning season begins optimistically<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Joint Marketing Board for all state
\nagricultural enterprises opened this year's tea auctioning season
\nwith optimism yesterday.<\/p>\n
Sugiat, the president of state-owned PT Perkebunan Nusantara
\n(PTPN) VIII, said yesterday he was confident this year would be
\nmore favorable for Indonesian tea exports because potential new
\nmarkets were opening up and many countries' domestic politics
\nwere stabilizing.<\/p>\n
He was mainly referring to former Soviet states and countries
\nin Central Europe and the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Sugiat said Indonesia would produce more and better tea.<\/p>\n
\"We hope to see less off-grade tea coming from our domestic
\nproducers,\" he said following the opening of this year's first
\ntea auction.<\/p>\n
He said the favorable outlook this year would help tea
\nexporters whose market slumped last year because of political
\nupheaval in many tea importing countries.<\/p>\n
PTPN VIII's marketing director, Suwadji Munawar, said domestic
\ntea production dropped to 133,000 tons last year from 141,084
\ntons in 1995.<\/p>\n
About 60 percent of this was exported. Indonesia's major
\nexport markets for tea include Pakistan, the United States and
\nEurope.<\/p>\n
Sugiat said 2.4 million tons of tea were traded
\ninternationally last year.<\/p>\n
PTPN VIII and the 13 other state firms overseen by the
\nMinistry of Agriculture sell much of their commodities through
\nthe Joint Marketing Board.<\/p>\n
In 1995, PTPN VIII produced 62,897 tons of tea, or 44.6
\npercent of the country's total tea production.<\/p>\n
Zaini Taibin, the Joint Marketing Board's managing director,
\nsaid the results of last year's tea auctions were an improvement
\non 1995's in terms of quantity and sales.<\/p>\n
In a speech which was read yesterday by the board's vice
\nmanaging director, Asep Toyib, Zaini said 31.6 million kilograms
\nof tea were auctioned last year, up 13 percent on the 27.9
\nmillion kilograms auctioned in 1995.<\/p>\n
This resulted from better production and the active
\nparticipation of producers at the auctions.<\/p>\n
The volume of tea sold through the auctions increased 67.8
\npercent from 13.3 million kg in 1995 to 22.34 million kg last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Zaini said the big increase resulted from buyers' active
\nparticipation at the auctions, higher tea quality and lower
\nprices compared to overseas' prices.<\/p>\n
The average price of tea sold at last year's auctions was
\n116.13 U.S. cents a kilogram, up 9.1 percent from 106.45 cents a
\nkilogram in 1995.<\/p>\n
Zaini predicted that the country's tea production would
\ncontinue to rise this year because of favorable markets and
\nbetter quality.<\/p>\n
He said local exporters had a better chance this year because
\ntea production in other countries, except Sri Lanka and Kenya,
\nwas likely to drop.<\/p>\n
Sugiat predicted this year's average auction price would
\nexceed 120 cents a kg.<\/p>\n
Sugiat said the marketing of state enterprises' agricultural
\nproducts through the Joint Marketing Board was still necessary,
\ndespite some external criticism.<\/p>\n
Ever since the 27 state firms overseen by the Ministry of
\nAgriculture were merged into 14 firms last year -- namely PTPN I
\nthrough to XIV -- each firm has had its own marketing director.<\/p>\n
This means that each firm can sell its commodities directly to
\ncustomers.<\/p>\n
The vice chairman of the Indonesian Tea Association, Insyaf
\nMalik, said that selling state firms' commodities through the
\nJoint Marketing Board was more efficient.<\/p>\n
Insyaf, who is also the production director of West Sumatra-
\nbased PTPN VI, said the board was also needed for market
\ninformation and to administrate the marketing of state firms'
\ncommodities.<\/p>\n
\"Nonetheless, we still need to conduct direct marketing and
\nbusiness negotiations with some of our customers. We don't expect
\nthe board to interfere in this,\" he said.<\/p>\n
About 40 percent of the tea produced by state-owned plantation
\nfirms is marketed through the Joint Marketing Board's auctions.<\/p>\n
The remaining 60 percent is sold directly or traded. (pwn)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tea-auctioning-season-begins-optimistically-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }