Lai Chau province moves to diversify markets for tea products

Among efforts to diversify markets for local farm produce, the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau is working to boost the export of tea products to the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.

Some tea products of the Lai Chau Tea Joint Stock Company (Photo: VNA)
Some tea products of the Lai Chau Tea Joint Stock Company (Photo: VNA)

Lai Chau is currently home more than 8,500ha of land under tea. The fresh tea bud output stood at around 44,000 tonnes last year.

Most of local tea products have been exported to the Middle East and Taiwan (China).

Nguyen Thi Loan, Director of the Lai Chau Tea Joint Stock Company, said more than half of Vietnam’s tea products have been sold to the Middle East in recent years, noting that this market has great demand for tea which is an essential commodity there.

She added the Middle East is the destination of 45 percent (nearly 3,000 tonnes in 2021) of her company’s tea production while Taiwan consumes 40 percent and Europe 10 percent. The rest is sold in the domestic market.

The provincial People’s Committee is set to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hold a teleconference connected with the Middle East, North Africa, and South Africa on June 15 to step up tea export to the three markets.

The event is viewed as a chance for local tea producers and traders to be updated with market information, seek new partners, work out export promotion measures, and introduce typical tea and OCOP (One Commune, One Product) products of Lai Chau.

Pham Thi Nu, Director of the Truc Thanh Shan Tea Co. Ltd, which sells nearly 1,500 tonnes of tea to Pakistan annually, expressed her hope that the conference will help her firm find new partners and expand markets so as to avoid overdependence on a single market and ensure stable sales.