The average export price of tea in the first 2 months was 1,481 USD/tonne, down 14.3% compared to the same period last year.

Pakistan was the largest importer when it splashed out 9.51 million USD on buying 5,246 tons of Vietnamese tea, decreasing 3.5% in volume and down 8.3% in value year on year; accounting for 30.3% of the total tea export volume and accounting for 37% of total turnover of the country. Tea export price to this market reached 1,812.5 USD/tonne, down 5%.

It was followed by Russia  with imports of 2,268 tonnes worth 3.58 milion USD,  accounting over 13% of the total volume and total export turnover of the whole country,  down 15.1% in volume and down 12.5% in value over the same period. Export price increased by 3.2% to 1,578.8 USD/tonne.

The exports to Taiwan ( China) were 1.683 tonnes worth 2.51 million USD, accounting for nearly 10% of the country's total tea export and value, down by 19% in volume and 28.9 per cent in turnover with the tea export price of 1,493.4 USD/tonne, up by 2% year on year.

Organic shan tuyet tea of Ban Lien commune, Bac Ha district, the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, is regarded as a promising export item.

Up to 474 of more than 500 ha of shan tuyet tea in Ban Lien has been recognised as organic. In 2017, Bac Ha’s shan tuyet tea received a licence for brand name registration. Hoang Su Phi district is home to 4,600 ha of tea with an annual output of 12,880 tonnes. The area of ancient shan tuyet tea stands at 2,000 ha, yielding more than 6,000 tonnes annually. A total of 1,470 ha of tea in Hoang Su Phi have been recognised as organic, of which 161 ha have satisfied standards set by the European Union.

Vietnam’s tea industry needs to focus on enhancing quality, diversifying product offerings and building brands to develop in a sustainable way, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The ministry said reducing pesticide residue and increasing added value for tea products were still important tasks in the development of the industry.

In an effort to address this need and to meet the market's high quality requirements, the ministry implemented a three-year project starting in 2017 to encourage safe production and increase the value of tea products.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, global output of black tea was anticipated to increase 2.2 percent per year in the next decade to reach 4.4 million tonnes in 2027, while green tea would increase by 7.5 percent to 3.6 million tonnes.

Global tea consumption was predicted to increase significantly, driven by China which accounts for nearly 40 percent of consumption.

 T.Huong
Source: Vitic/Vinanet.vn