Farmers harvest tea in Lai Châu Province. Việt Nam earnt US$135 million from tea export in the first seven months of this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Quý Trung

Việt Nam is the eighth largest tea exporter in the world, earning US$135 million from tea exports in the first seven months of this year, an increase of 34.8 per cent over the same period last year.

Tea export price averaged $1,272.7 per tonnes, up by 1.6 per cent.

In July alone, tea export reached 16,000 tonnes, worth $29 million, up 14.5 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively, over a month ago, statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Import – Export Department showed.

Tea export products of Việt Nam include green tea, black tea and oolong tea.

Although Việt Nam was among the world’s largest tea exporters, the proportions of Vietnamese tea in the import of major markets remain modest, meaning that there are significant opportunities for Việt Nam to increase volumes.

Specifically, Việt Nam’s tea export to the EU, the world’s largest tea importer, accounted for just 0.19 per cent of the bloc’s total tea imports of $401 million in the first four months of this year, according to statistics from Eurostat.

However, the EU is raising higher requirements for tea quality, towards greener and leaner production, pushing exporters to update themselves on the new regulations.

Pakistan is also the second largest tea importer in the world, but the tea export of Việt Nam into this market remained modest due to the lack of market information.

The demands for tea of other major tea import markets such as the US and the UK are increasing, providing significant opportunities for Việt Nam to expand. A study by Research and Markets showed that the global tea market is expected to reach $37.5 billion in 2025, up from $24.3 billion in 2016. — VNS