A new law adopted by the European Union (EU) to reduce imports of chemically-treated products, has placed the SMB Agri section in a favourable position to boost the marketing and export of its teas.

This was revealed to Business Nation by the Agri's Section Manager, Mr Rodrigues Medina, during a visit by the national media at the Morne Blanc tea factory and plantations last week.

Mr Medina explained that there has been growing concerns among European countries on the side effects of chemically-treated products and the countries were now trying to adopt more environmentally-friendly means of food production.

Seychelles, he said, stood to gain much from this law as the tea plantations in the country were not being subjected to chemical treatment such as spraying of pesticides, since they were normally free of diseases. 

"This provides us with a major marketing advantage since we produce natural  tea products," Mr Medina observed.

But according to him, this was bad news for major tea manufacturing countries like Sri Lanka, India and Kenya, which normally use pesticides to treat their plantations. Mr Medina told Business Nation that unless these countries changed their traditional cultivating practices, they were going to find it more difficult to export their products to EU member countries.

But the Agri Section, which produces an average of 50 tonnes of tea per year, but exported only 264 kilos of tea last year, should not be complacent.

In its drive to further stimulate its marketing campaign, the company has recently recruited a manager from South Africa, responsible for marketing the tea overseas.

Previously tea export in the country was being carried out by mainly tourists coming to Seychelles and who were buying the tea.

The newly recruited manager has an important responsibility to find a niche market for the local tea and ensure that Seychelles makes use of its potential to compete with the major tea manufacturing countries.

Speaking of tea consumption in Seychelles, Mr Medina said it had not reduced, but SMB needed to adopt a more comprehensive long-term marketing strategy to keep that tradition alive, especially among the youths and further sensitise the community about the healthy benefits of drinking tea. 

Mr Medina said the consumption of tea in the country was more popular among the adults than children, who normally preferred soft drinks.

Sales of tea bags, for instance, continued to increase every year at an average of 5% to 10%, but the company, Mr Medina said, should keep this momentum of sales going.

SMB Agri is producing 35 varieties of tea with diverse flavours and has recently launched a new brand, the White Tea, which is made from "tea tips" dried naturally. This new tea is being sold mainly to tourists.

SMB Agri is currently working on a plan to produce ice tea, but further tests and sampling need to be done before this new product can be made.

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