Vietnams tea exports still in downtrend

Vietnam ships 10,000 tonnes of tea abroad, earning 18 million USD in July (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam earned 109 million USD from exporting 67,000 tonnes of tea in the first seven months of 2018, a year-on-year decrease of 12.9 percent in volume.

According to the department of farm produce processing and market development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in July alone, the country shipped 10,000 tonnes of tea abroad, earning 18 million USD.

The fall in the volume of exported tea was attributed to low demand of main importers. Specifically, the volume of Vietnamese tea exported to Russia – a major importer of Vietnam – decreased by 1,230 tonnes or 14.3 percent of Russia’s total import, to the United Arab Emirates down 1,190 tonnes or 57 percent and Indonesia down 427 tonnes or 8.7 percent.

Pakistan remained the largest importer of Vietnamese tea. The export value earned from this market accounted for 32.1 percent of Vietnam’s tea export turnover, or 29.9 million USD, in the first half of this year. It was followed by China’s Taiwan, Russia, China, Indonesia and the United States.

Vietnam is now the seventh biggest tea producer in the world and the fifth biggest exporter of the product, said the department.

More than 500 tea factories are operational in the country. Together they produce more than 500,000 tonnes of dried tea leaves annually.