China's tea planting areas rank first in the world but its output is only second. And its exports, come in even lower on the list at third while the return on export ranks just fourth! What leads to these anomalous results?

The China National Native Produce & Animal By-products Import & Export Corporation is a major tea exporter in the country. Its exports made up one quarter of the country's total last year, reaching more than 40 thousand tons. President of the company, Pan Deyuan, gives this answer...

"The average output per acre is just 50 kilograms in China. While that in Japan is several times that figure. The total export volume is increasing year on year, but the disorderly competition in the industry leads to almost no rise in revenue. The price war between exporters really hurts the country's tea business."

Another major problem lies in the area of quality. Since late 2001 when the European Union, a major tea importing region, exerted stricter import criteria, China's tea exports have been sliding. The situation became worse after the EU again tightened restrictions and Japan, another big tea consuming country made a similar move. The decrease in China's exports hit almost 40 percent for a time. Pan Deyuan says although trade protectionism can't be excluded as a motive for the moves, it should be acknowledged that there ARE quality problems such as excessive pesticide residue in some of our products. After all, he says, as a supposedly healthy drink, it shouldn't do harm to people's health.

Besides, China lacks internally-known brands. Vice Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Tea Research and Development Foundation, Liu Chongli, gives "Lipton" as an example.
"Britain doesn't grow tea at all. But Lipton tea is famous all over the world. What they do is to mix several types of tea up to consumers' taste and ensure the quality and formula of their products. When the consumers are accustomed to the products, the volume and price are of course assured."

Therefore, Pan Deyuan, President of the China National Native Produce & Animal By-products Import & Export Corporation, gives his suggestion on refining the industry.
"One is that the relative authorities and the trade association have to work out rules and regulations on tea production, processing and packaging, especially concerning sanitation aspects. Besides, we have to invest more in research and development, using genetic and biochemical technologies to enhance the production and quality as well as added value of our tea products. And thus we can forge our own high-profile brands, making the name 'tea country' match the reality."

(CRI March 31, 2004)