By Yang Yuan-ting and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Tea production is falling due to the effects of climate change, with this year’s harvest set to be even lower because of typhoon damage, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Tea and Beverage Research Station said yesterday.
Taiwan’s coffee and tea are internationally renowned for their quality, but climate change has caused a dip in overall production, station director-general Su Tsung-chen (蘇宗振) said ahead of the Taiwan International Tea, Coffee, Wine and Food Industry Show in Taipei this weekend.
Taiwanese tea exports exceeded 15,000 tonnes in 2000, but exports over the past three years were about 11,000 to 13,000 tonnes, he said.
An official from the Tea and Beverage Research Station inspects tea leaves in an undated photograph.
Photo courtesy of the Tea and Beverage Research Station
Typhoon Krathon and other storms have also damaged a portion of the winter tea crop, resulting in slightly decreased quality, Su said.
However, Taiwan’s processing techniques have resulted in only minimal decreases in quality, he added.
The station, alongside the ministry’s Agricultural Research and Extension Station, has been introducing heat-resistant tea trees in recent years, Su said, adding that 100 hectares have been planted nationwide.
Agriculture and Food Agency Secretary-General Chen Chi-jung (陳啟榮) said the nation’s total area of tea trees stood at about 12,000 hectares, with an industry value of NT$30 billion (US$925 million).
However, as more people have been drinking coffee in recent years, the total area planted with coffee trees has doubled from 600 to 1,200 hectares, Chen said.
Taiwan-grown and roasted coffee beans have won several notable international competitions, Chen said.
Under the leadership of groups such as the Coffee Industrial Alliance of Taiwan, bean prices have increased and become more sought after, and are now being sold in 15 countries, he added.
The agency has been promoting the use of agricultural produce to make alcohol and wine since 1999, Chen said, adding that the annual value of the wine and alcohol industry is NT$120 million with more than 130,000 liters produced annually.
Asked if Typhoon Krathon would affect the industry, Chen said the agency estimated there would be minimal impacts as production methods could be tweaked to compensate for production to satisfy the market.
