Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/716988
68 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2016 (August/September) Tea cultivation is slowly dying Despite fierce attempts by local businessmen to revive the industry it is hard to conclude things are going well. Since the millenium tea production near the city has collapsed five times, leaving only a few dozen tea-growing companies in Sochi, according to deputy mayor Oleg Yasuk. "During the years 2005-15 production declined from 1,495 MT to 316 MT, according to our esti- mates. Yasuk estimates that 1,175 hectares of the 1,406 hectares set aside for the production of tea leaves "are overgrown with grass and not used for this purpose." Several dozen companies are licensed to manufacture tea on agricultural land, but few are doing so. Hope is not lost however. Russian advisors recently began working on this problem for the first time in several years, according to Yasuk. "Rosselhoznadzor (the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) is now monitoring the activity of tea growers. Several companies have been fined up to RUB 450,000 (US$7,000) for failing to grow tea on land designated for tea cultivation. "We expect that agricultural land from these failed companies will be taken away in favor of entrepreneurs who are actually willing to grow tea near the city," he said. The city council has 400 applications from companies interested in growing tea, but the land designated for tea cultivation is strictly limited. The largest tracts lie in Kransnodar Krai in the moun- tains near Sochi on land desired by developers of fruit orchards and tourist attractions. He says "now is the time deal with the mess. Tea growers have no money to work with and some are now growing fruit to support their operations. However, this practice is not allowed by operating license." Once adopted, a program under review by the city council to assist tea growers "should give impetus to investors to bring money into the revival of plantations," said Yasuk, adding that officials don't expect the underlying issues to be resolved quickly. Challenges and opportunities There are six major tea-growing companies in the region: Matsesta Chai, Dagomys Chai, Adler Chai, Khosta Chai, Solohaul Chai, and Shapsugsky Chai, but only the first two listed are profitable. Khosta Chai has a license to cultivate 420 hectares but uses only half of this land for tea. "We collect tea by hand or with the use of small-scale mechanization. It is hard work. Due to the mountainous terrain, we cannot work on tractors like in Japan," says Konstantin Turshu, head of Matsesta Chai. "We pluck every bush seven or eight times during the season. Weeding and harvesting follow with two weeks of exposure for the flush. During this time, the bush is getting fresh new leaves," explains Vladimir Voronin, chief agronomist at Matsesta Chai. "During the Soviet era the farms in Sochi reached peak production volumes of 50,000 to 60,000 MT per year, but the market collapsed in the 1990s and tea plantations were overgrown with grass. There was no harvesting or processing of tea at all." Statistics marking the decline do not accurately describe the situation on farms throughout the region, he said, adding, "most of the tea-growing companies are really depressed." In contrast, Matsesta Chai is experiencing a revival. "Production is reviving. Last year we employed eight growing specialists, today their number has reached 39. In the past year we brought an additional 15 hectares under cultivation. Now our Local tea cultivars are specially produced by scientists of Soviet Union to withstand frost that would kill most varieties of camellia sinesis. Kakha Nachkebia, technical manager at the Nagomari tea plantation. The plantation employs 33 workers operational. Together, these 21 co-ops own 46 hectares of land, though co-op members own about 200 hectares. Under the agency's "Georgian Tea" program, the state co-finances a maximum 2,500 lari (about $1,065) per hectare for reha- bilitation. "We will help tea producers through- out the value chain — not only planta- tions but also co-financing to buy pro- cessing machinery," said Davitashvili, estimating that the program costs about six million lari ($2.6 million) and targets 3,000 hectares for restoration over the next two years. "Theoretically, thousands of people could be working in the tea industry, but right now, there are very few, he said. "Farmers need proper machinery. We have to start this year, because it takes sev- eral years to fully restore the plantations." Davitashvili said Georgia is currently producing about 3,000 metric tons of tea, of which 2,000 tons are exported. Leading producers include Geoplant and Althaus. "The potential for Georgian tea is pretty significant," he told STiR Tea & Coffee. "We expect $20 million in tea ex- ports once we have this restoration pro- cess underway within three or four years. What we export right now is very cheap." Temuri Yakobashvili, Georgia's for- mer ambassador to the United States, now runs the New International Leader- ship Institute, a Washington-based think tank. He says his country's tea industry "was not a natural development, but very much the child of Soviet planning" back in the 1920s and 1930s.