revenue of 14 million USD, according to the Vietnam Tea Association.
With the money earned in July, total tea export turnover in the first
seven months of the year stood at 91 million USD, a year-on-year
increase of 6 percent, 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.
In 1998, the price of Vietnamese tea stood at 1.52 USD per kilo, while prices abroad averaged about 2.01 USD per kilo.
In 2009, while tea prices on transaction floors on the world market
climbed to 2.43 USD kilo, Vietnamese tea fell in price to 1.23 USD 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./.
