GI tea leaves poverty in the past

HEFEI－Even after growing tea for more than 40 years, Wang Yunpeng worried that his skills would one day be superseded by modern farming techniques. Wang, 58, hails from Lu'an in Anhui province, famed for producing one of the country's most-prized varieties of tea.

In 2017, he was invited to join a local cooperative after encountering financial difficulties due to his son's ill health.

Owing to their worsening financial situation, the Wang household was officially listed as impoverished.

Wang said that due to the inconsistent quality of the tea he produced, he could not sell his product at a premium price. "Before joining the cooperative, I cultivated tea based on my experience," he said.

He leased his 2,000-square-meter plot to the cooperative, and in return, the cooperative gave him technical guidance on cultivating tea using standardized methods and tools.

The tea had to be grown to quality standards that excluded the use of fertilizers and pesticides, to gain certification as Lu'an Guapian green tea bearing the geographical indication logo.

Lu'an Guapian was registered as a GI product in 2008, which indicates the tea's geographical origin and vouches for its quality.

Provincial authorities issue criteria for the use of the GI logo, stipulating that it can only be placed on the packaging of products that meet quality standards.

"Tea factories used to buy fresh leaves from farmers by weight," Wang said. "Now they strictly consider the size and color of the leaves before purchasing."

At first, Wang worried that he might earn less, as meeting quality standards reduced his output.

However, cleaner and greener farming practices resulted in Wang producing higher-quality tea that sold for 5 to 10 percent above the market price.

Wang also only needs to concentrate on cultivating the tea, as the cooperative takes care of processing and marketing it, which has drastically reduced his workload.

His annual income doubled to around 30,000 yuan ($4,239) last year, and the entire family has been able to shake off poverty.

Wang's success story is not unique. According to local authorities, the annual per capita income of farmers in the Lu'an tea plantation area has increased by more than 1,500 yuan on average.

Anhui has 78 registered GI products and annual sales totaled nearly 41.5 billion yuan last year. Of those, 15 were exported to overseas markets earning 2.8 billion yuan in revenue.

In addition, 47 GI products related to poverty-alleviation projects have helped more than 260,000 poor people, whose per capita annual income grew by 3,000 yuan.

Last year, China and the European Union signed an eight-year GI agreement that covers 275 products.

Another China-European Union agreement on GI will be inked soon that will give Chinese products the right to use the official certification mark of the EU, making it easier to export products to Europe.

"Someday the tea I plant may be in a foreigner's cup," Wang said.

Xinhua