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Higher quality lifts tea exports in July
Viet Nam exported 10,000 tonnes of tea last month, earning export revenue of US$14 million, according to the Viet Nam Tea Association.
With the money earned in July, total tea export turnover in the first seven months of the year stood at $91 million, a year-on-year increase of 6 per cent, the association said.
The association attributed the increase to higher tea prices compared with last year, when tea was strongly affected by the world recession.
The association added that thanks to higher quality and better hygiene, Vietnamese tea was fetching higher prices on the world market.
Russia recently became the largest importer of Vietnamese tea. Other markets included Pakistan, Taiwan, China and Afghanistan.
Although the price of Vietnamese tea this year is higher than last year thanks to improved quality, it still remains low compared to rival products.
In the last decade, the price of domestically produced tea has not significantly increased.
The gap between Vietnamese tea prices and rival transaction floors in Calcutta, Colombo and Mombasa has become greater.
In 1998, the price of Vietnamese tea stood at $1.52 per kilo, while prices abroad averaged about $2.01 per kilo.
In 2009, while tea prices on transaction floors on the world market climbed to $2.43 kilo, Vietnamese tea fell in price to $1.23 per kilo.
"This situation is caused by unhealthy competition among domestic companies," said Doan Anh Tuan, chairman of the association.
"Many companies produce and export low-quality tea, which has strongly affected the prestige of the national tea industry," he added.
Manufacturers have not invested in developing technology and cultivation practices.
"Vietnamese tea is cheaper than that of other countries because it has not caught up with changing global tastes," said Nguyen Thu Hang, representative of Estate Agencies, a regular Vietnamese tea industry customer.
"Another reason for the poor prices is the lack of an identifiable global trademark," she said.
Hang also affirmed that her company would be ready to import Vietnamese tea at higher prices if manufacturers could ensure hygiene and better quality.
Thirty four Vietnamese provinces currently cultivate tea over 131,500 ha with a yield of about 6.5 tonne per hectare.
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