Tea exports increased to 97,000 tonnes and earned 126 million USD in the first nine months of this year, a 22.4 percent increase in volume and a 13.7 percent increase in value compared to the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Tea Association.

Exports totalled 15,000 tonnes and earned 20 million USD in September alone, at a price of 1,350 USD per tonne – the same rate as August, said association vice chairman Tran Van Gia.

The average export price for the first nine months was 1.333 USD per tonne, a slight reduction compared with September last year.

The association said average export prices of Vietnamese tea were lower than average export prices on the world market because 98 percent of Vietnam’s export tea volume was raw tea material and the quality of Vietnamese tea remained unreliable.

To guarantee long-term development of the tea industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the association will organise investment and trade promotion conferences for the tea industry of Vietnam in Phu Tho province and Hanoi on Oct. 15 and 16.

The conferences would hear general reports on the tea industry, development policies for the industry in the coming period, drafts on foreign and domestic investment into the industry, prospects for the industry in the future and a plan on developing a Vietnamese tea auction floor.

So far, 10 foreign investors from Japan , the US and Pakistan, and 30 Vietnamese tea producers have registered to participate in the conferences, according to the association.

The tea industry has predicted total exports this year of 117,000 tonnes, earning 167 million USD, making it one of the few agricultural sectors with a higher target during the global economic downturn.

Vietnam exports tea to 110 countries and territories around the world, and the Che Viet trademark is registered in 70 countries and regions. The country now ranks fifth in the world in terms of output and exports, with major export markets including Pakistan, Russia, mainland China, Afghanistan and Taiwan./.