Quality assurance

The price of tea exports soared as more tea-producing enterprises in the county have obtained organic certifications from Japan, the US and the EU, Liu said. The progress should be attributed to the quality traceability system that monitors safety issues, including pesticide residue, he said.

To ensure the smooth operation of the system, Anxi has merged its agricultural resource companies and provided unified services for tea growers to prevent pesticide and fertilizers from being used at organic tea plantations.

The county has also reexamined the qualification of 111 tea producers that are eligible to use the geographical indication of Anxi Tieguanyin in their trademarks.

Liao Luxing, chief of food inspection at the Quanzhou Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, said pesticide residue is the biggest concern for Chinese tea producers and foreign consumers.

Overseas markets including Japan and the EU have tightened restrictions related to pesticide residue in tea products over the past decade, raising the requirements for Chinese tea producers, said Zhang Hua, director of the bureau's Anxi office.

To tackle the issue, the bureau set up a national key laboratory for tea inspection in Anxi in 2007.

The lab checks more than 3,000 tea samples every year in accordance with Chinese and international standards, Zhang said. All tea products that have gone through the lab's inspections have passed importers' safety and quality checks since 2008, Zhang said.

The county's efforts in encouraging tea export enterprises to focus on organic products have paid off, according to Liao from the bureau's food inspection unit.

At present, about 100 enterprises in Anxi have adopted a number of authentication and labeling systems, including ISO9000, HACCP, GAP and GMP.

The number of organic tea producers in the county has increased from 13 six years ago to 21 today. The county's total organic tea plantation area grew from 2,270 hectares to 2,640 hectares, outpacing all other tea-producing counties nationwide.

Anxi has also launched a range of seminars and forums to conduct research on overseas markets and to expand the international influence of Chinese tea culture.