Competitiveness of Indonesian Tea Products in the European Union Market

Abstract

This study evaluates the competitiveness of Indonesian tea exports in the European Union (EU) market using Trade Map data from 2005 to 2024. Despite the EU being a premium, expanding import market, Indonesia’s export share has severely eroded due to structural challenges and rigidities in adapting to rising sustainability standards. By integrating Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and Constant Market Share Analysis (CMSA), this paper evaluates relative export specialization and decomposes export changes into demand, composition, and competitiveness effects. The RCA results indicate a structural decline, with Indonesia’s aggregate comparative advantage falling below unity in 2021 and reaching roughly 0.6 in 2024. CMSA decomposition reveals that this erosion is primarily driven by a weakening competitiveness effect (CMSA 3), critical market mismatches in composition (CMSA 2), and high vulnerability to demand shocks (CMSA 1). At the disaggregated level, only bulk black tea (HS 090240) maintained a comparative advantage in 2024, albeit with extreme volatility, while value-added segments collapsed. These findings imply that restoring export performance requires transitioning from static comparative advantages toward dynamic competitive advantages. Policymakers should implement upstream plantation rejuvenation and downstream quality upgrading, sustainability compliance, and trade diplomacy to reposition Indonesian tea in higher-value EU market segments.