Bright prospects for tea industry in 2009

Hanoi (VNA) - The tea industry plans to export 117,000 tonnes of tea, with expected earnings of 167 million USD in 2009, a year-on-year increase of 13.6 percent.

The target was announced at the Vietnam Tea Association (VINATEA) conference in
Hanoi on Jan. 6.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said the tea sector needs
to improve tea quality and focus on food hygiene and safety.
Bien said the sector should pay attention to recovering its Iraqi market and
expanding new outlets in Germany , Poland , Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands
.

VINATEA President Nguyen Kim Phong said that the sector has continued its efforts
for sustainable development by modernising processing technology, holding training
courses on farming techniques, and creating new tea varieties.

But the sector needs to diversify its tea products to meet various demands, he said.

Vietnam ranks fifth in the world for tea output and export, with Vietnamese tea
products present in 110 countries and territories.
In 2008, Vietnam exported 104,000 tonnes of tea, earning 147 million USD, a
year-on-year increase of 12.4 percent.

Also in the year, VINATEA coordinated with relevant agencies to obtain licenses for
Vietnamese tea to be exported directly to several new markets.

Tea has been growing on 131,500 ha in 35 provinces with an average productivity of
6.5 tonnes of raw tea buds per ha, supplying materials to 700 processing
establishments.

Approximately 6 million people in Vietnam are earning a living from tea growing,
processing and trading.

Tea is considered a key plant, contributing to poverty reduction and creating
wealth for people in remote, isolated and mountainous regions.-Enditem