Report Feasibility study organic bitter tea Cao Bang - Helvetas

Feasibility Study Organic Bitter Tea in Cao Bang: 2007
two types of production without threatening the integrity of the organic production. As
mentioned in Chapter 4 no farmer should be allowed to convert only part of his/her bitter
tea production. However, managing two production systems will be most critical at the
processing level.
It would be easiest (and most simple to manage) if for example a certain area will be
converted completely and a processing unit set up there which is dedicated to the organic
products. Since the processing of bitter tea is relatively simple and no expensive machinery
is being used, the investment for this second processing unit would be rather low.
A good area for organic production would, for example, be The Duc commune of Nguyen
Binh district. There currently are 98 farmers registered with the BTC here and production
conditions are quite similar among these farmers making it very suitable for setting up an
ICS. Commune authorities are also quite positive about the bitter tea project and seem to be
supportive to the idea of organic production. A small processing unit could be set up in the
commune that is dedicated to organic processing. This number of producers will allow for
the production of reasonably sized batches of tea (one ton). A processing unit close to the
producers would also make it possible for the producers to bring their tea directly and
personally to the processing unit, eliminating the use of the bus services during which there
cannot be any control over what happened with the tea.
7.2. Certification and ICS
In terms of certification it would be easiest to select one certification body that could
provide all necessary certificates through one inspection visit. To reduce costs a certifier
with local or regional inspectors should be chosen. To eliminate the need for an inspection
visit to all organic producers (and thereby greatly reducing the costs for certification), a
group certification system should be set up. This would require setting up an ICS, which
would have the additional advantage of providing an excellent tool for managing the
organic supply chain, including the training of farmers.
7.3. Market development for organic bitter tea
First of all, the responsible staff of the BTC should develop a good understanding of
concepts related to food safety and certification requirements. This would include organic
production and certification but also GAP, HACCP, etc. Secondly, the existing overseas
contacts, particularly from Korea and Japan, should be approached to find out what their
requirements are.
To develop a market for organic bitter tea it is essential to develop some organic
production. This will allow potential clients to check the product and its specifications.
Having some organic production (with an ICS) already will also speed up the process of
certification since the conversion period could be reduced at least for the pilot area.
As mentioned in section 4.6, it would be interesting to also explore the possibilities of
creating some new products on the basis of (organic) bitter tea. In many markets organic
products are successfully introduced as new products and not just to replace a traditional
product. This could really attract new customers who would otherwise not take bitter tea in
its original form.
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