Thailand Tea Organic Mandate

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Thailand was an early adopter of organic cultivation and has made great strides in producing fine organic teas for export.

By Thomas Schmid

Organic certification of tea and coffee is principally governed by Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture, which also approves and issues certificates under the “Organic Thailand” label. Since 2017 There also exists a private organization, ACT Organic Co., which is authorized to issue organic certificates for farms that adhere to the ministerial rules.

Certification is a necessity

Thailand has greatly bolstered its coffee production in recent years, including dozens of organic coffee brands, but it is not a major exporter. Apart from Doi Chaang and a few other export-focused producers most locally grown coffee remains in the country.

This is because Thailand has transformed into a large-volume coffee importer. Annual domestic consumption far outstrips domestic production but the situation is markedly different with tea. Well over half of the country’s annual tea crop is exported.

While organic tea plays a relatively minor role in the domestic market, organic certification is a necessity for export.

One of the most prominent (and earliest) organic tea producers in the country is Thai Tea Suwirun Co. Ltd., based in the mountainous far-north province of Chiang Rai. The family-owned business has been growing tea for more than 40 years and currently cultivates 224 hectares of tea gardens that yield an annual maximum of approximately 1,500 tons. But the company additionally also purchases leaves from contract farmers in the wider region. The harvest is processed at the company’s own facility into four main product groups: black tea, green tea, oolong, and herbal tea (or rather, tea leaves mixed with a variety of Thai herbs). According to marketing manager Jaruwan Natinwirun, 70% of annual output is marketed under the house brand “Suwirun”, which is subdivided into five product series: Original, Tinny, Garden Tea, Sirintra, and Aoki Cha. The remaining 30% is produced for other brand owners.

Thai, USDA, and EU certified

Thai Tea Suwirun first started producing organic tea in 1994, gaining certification from the Ministry of Agriculture. Today 80% of the firm’s annual production is certified organic; not only by the ministry but also OneCert International – under USDA and European Union rules. Jaruwan ascertained that the requirements to obtain and maintain these national and international certifications are “not so dissimilar from one another.”

“They all follow rather similar standards, including regular sample collection for lab analysis and conducting unannounced audits to ensure compliance.” She stressed that it was crucial for the company to have secured all three certifications. “Each carries its own importance from a marketing perspective, especially for us as an organic tea producer that is active domestically as well as an exporter.” If any of the certificate-issuing authorities discovered that Thai Suwirun’s production had flaunted the strict organic certification criteria, “it would first attempt to identify and rectify the cause, assessing whether it constituted is a major breach of the certification requirements or not.” If compliance could not be re-established, the result could be certification withdrawal.

Organic tea for everyone

Not that Thai Tea Suwirun needed to be concerned in the slightest. It’s meticulously curated organic tea products enjoy brisk sales at home but are even more popular abroad. The company’s current main export markets are – in descending order – Germany, the United States, China, and neighboring Southeast Asian countries.

“We take great pride in our teas. After all, tea drinking has been a time-honored tradition passed down from generation to generation. We drink tea daily, offering it to family and friends. Given that, how could we possibly serve a chemical-tainted drink to our treasured worldwide customers?” Jaruwan asked almost rhetorically.

Thai Tea Suwirun, she affirmed, is committed to producing top-quality organic tea, making no compromises. “We want to see a world in which everyone enjoys premium quality organic tea and are well prepared to contribute our part in achieving that.”