For tea producers, the EU plays a minor role as an export area.

The European Union has overstepped the mark with its restrictions on the use of pesticides in tea cultivation, according to the German Tea and Herbal Tea Association. "We demand a realistic distinction between necessary consumer protection and impractical maximum residue levels for pesticides in our raw materials," said association president Frank Schübel on the occasion of International Tea Day this Wednesday. Currently, with each further tightening of restrictions, the EU is becoming less attractive as a trading partner for producing countries, particularly in Asia and Africa.

According to the association, the EU limits for pesticides are in the microgram or nanogram range. German tea companies invest tens of millions of euros annually in the analysis. Both the inspections initiated by the companies and tests conducted by consumer protection organizations show that the legal requirements are met to a high degree. "It is important to us to engage in dialogue with the authorities on this issue," said Schübel. At the same time, however, he complained: "However, this is often no longer permitted by Brussels."

Schübel did not dismiss the criticism that starvation wages are often paid on tea plantations. However, he added: "Unfortunately, our ability to influence this is limited, because we must not underestimate the fact that many wages in tea-growing countries are regulated by the state or unions." According to the association, German tea companies are therefore trying to improve living conditions on the plantations in other ways. For example, a company in Rwanda donated cows and facilitated the cultivation of lemongrass along the tea plantation's drainage ditches, thus creating additional income opportunities.

In general, German tea companies rely on the goodwill of producers, said Schübel. "With a purchasing volume of less than one percent, for example for tea from India, we do not have the option of demanding that our suppliers adapt their production conditions." According to the association, of the nearly 6.5 million tons of tea produced worldwide in 2022, just under 72 percent remained in the producing countries. Only just under 172,000 tons, or 2.65 percent, went to the EU, and of these, around 51,000 tons went to Germany.