The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has highly spoken of Vietnam’s tea area expansion and noted that the country’s increase in tea cultivation area helped to calm down tea shortage in the world.
According to the latest figures provided by the FAO, Vietnam’s tea output hit a record growth at 28 per cent in 2006, to 133,000 tons.
The organization highly appreciated Vietnam’s tea expansion programs in areas where land had been dedicated to poppy.
FAO’s report on the world’s tea trend for the World 2008 Tea Forum, which will take place in Dubai February 19-20, showed that tea prices will continue to rise this year due to thin supply. According to the association, tea prices soared by 11.6 per cent in 2006, to US$1.83 per kilo; and 6.5 per cent in 2007, to US$1.95 a kilo.
The association said the price hike is mostly attributed to the decrease by 10 per cent in Kenya’s tea output, but noting that outputs in India, China and Vietnam will help mollify the shortage.
According to FAO, total tea export volume in the world market will stand at 1.55 million tons in 2008, with increases in Sri Lanka, India and Vietnam, while decreases in Kenya and Indonesia.
Vietnam cultivated 125,700 hectares of tea in 2007, producing 704,900 tons, up 2.3 per cent in area and 8.6 per cent in volume compared with 2006.
Last year, the country earned US$131 million from exporting 114,000 tons of tea, making on year rises of 18.4 per cent in value and 7.8 per cent in volume. (Vietnam & World Economy)
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