Viet Nam had exported about 109,000 tonnes of tea worth $186 million in the past 10 months. — File PhotoViet Nam is expected to earn US$245 million from tea exports by year-end because of efforts to accelerate trade promotion, reorganise production and improve product quality.
Vietnam Economic News quoted Viet Nam Tea Association (Vitas) Chief Officer Hoang Vinh Long as saying that unfavourable weather conditions in the early months of 2014, including prolonged droughts and heavy rainfall in several tea-growing areas during the main cropping season, had a negative impact on tea production for export in many localities.
During the period, tea exporters also encountered several difficulties especially after Taiwan, one of the major Vietnamese tea importers, applied stricter rules of origin, Long noted.
Challenges also came from Pakistan, another important tea consumer, as many of its traders went directly to each enterprise in Viet Nam to negotiate the price, giving both tea businesses and farmers headaches, he revealed.
To deal with these issues in the later months of this year, trade promotion activities were improved with a focus on organising more direct meetings between Vietnamese businesses and foreign importers and diversifying types of tea products to be displayed at international exhibitions.
Last September, Vitas organised a business trip for domestic enterprises to participate in an international tea exhibition held in Moscow, which was described as a good opportunity for them to update themselves on international regulations on trade, food quality, hygiene and safety while expanding export outlets and seeking potential buyers in Eastern Europe.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that Viet Nam had exported about 109,000 tonnes of tea worth $186 million in the past 10 months./.