Vietnam’s tea exports in the first eight months of the year reached 90,000 tonnes, earning 142 million USD, up 12 percent in volume and 11.8 percent in value compared to the same time last year (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Accessing discerning markets is the main issue facing the Vietnamesetea sector although this product has a lot of opportunities abroad.
A delegation of Vietnamesetea businesses and members of the “Enhancing export competitiveness ofVietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by local trade promotionnetwork” programme (Vietnam SMEAssistance Programme) scoped out the US market.
The trip wasfunded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and implemented bythe Trade Promotion Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry andTrade.
According toStephen Kreppel, an expert of The Nation Consultancy Ltd, no one in Europe,except those in France, knows about Vietnamese tea, and they don’t trust foodand beverages produced by Asian nations, except that from Japan.
Vietnamese tea hasyet to be mentioned or been mentioned only very briefly in Wikipedia orarticles of foreign publications, which just mention tea from China, Japan andthe Republic of Korea, he said.
The expert saidwith poor cultivation techniques, the Vietnamese tea sector has failed to meetVietGap standards, highlighting the sector’s interrupted supply chain, unclearorigins and weaknesses in packaging.
Nguyen Thi Hien,Director of Ha Thai Tea JSC, which won a silver medal at the 2016 North AmericaTea Championship in Canada, said many customers at the competition agreed thatVietnamese tea is tastier than tea from elsewhere.
Many questionedwhy Vietnamese tea has yet to gain a firm foothold in the international marketdespite of its good quality, she added.
Do Kim Lang,Director of the Vietnam SME Assistance Programme, underlined the need forVietnamese tea firms to heed product quality instead of volume and job creation.
Wisal Hin, a UStea expert, said Vietnam has not paid attention to building its tea brand name ormade best use of its advantages.
He suggestedVietnamese tea producers access the US via retailers and distributors,explaining that the US mainly imports tea from Argentina.
The most importantjob is to seek import sources and examine the taste of US consumers who preferflower and fruit-flavoured tea, and place importance on product quality andorigin, he said.
The US tea marketalso changes according to holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving Day, WisalHin said.
Apart fromchanging customers’ awareness of Vietnamese tea, it is necessary to improvecultivation, harvesting and processing techniques, he said, stressing that itis a must for Vietnamese tea to be licensed by the US and the EU.-VNA
A delegation of Vietnamesetea businesses and members of the “Enhancing export competitiveness ofVietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by local trade promotionnetwork” programme (Vietnam SMEAssistance Programme) scoped out the US market.
The trip wasfunded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and implemented bythe Trade Promotion Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry andTrade.
According toStephen Kreppel, an expert of The Nation Consultancy Ltd, no one in Europe,except those in France, knows about Vietnamese tea, and they don’t trust foodand beverages produced by Asian nations, except that from Japan.
Vietnamese tea hasyet to be mentioned or been mentioned only very briefly in Wikipedia orarticles of foreign publications, which just mention tea from China, Japan andthe Republic of Korea, he said.
The expert saidwith poor cultivation techniques, the Vietnamese tea sector has failed to meetVietGap standards, highlighting the sector’s interrupted supply chain, unclearorigins and weaknesses in packaging.
Nguyen Thi Hien,Director of Ha Thai Tea JSC, which won a silver medal at the 2016 North AmericaTea Championship in Canada, said many customers at the competition agreed thatVietnamese tea is tastier than tea from elsewhere.
Many questionedwhy Vietnamese tea has yet to gain a firm foothold in the international marketdespite of its good quality, she added.
Do Kim Lang,Director of the Vietnam SME Assistance Programme, underlined the need forVietnamese tea firms to heed product quality instead of volume and job creation.
Wisal Hin, a UStea expert, said Vietnam has not paid attention to building its tea brand name ormade best use of its advantages.
He suggestedVietnamese tea producers access the US via retailers and distributors,explaining that the US mainly imports tea from Argentina.
The most importantjob is to seek import sources and examine the taste of US consumers who preferflower and fruit-flavoured tea, and place importance on product quality andorigin, he said.
The US tea marketalso changes according to holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving Day, WisalHin said.
Apart fromchanging customers’ awareness of Vietnamese tea, it is necessary to improvecultivation, harvesting and processing techniques, he said, stressing that itis a must for Vietnamese tea to be licensed by the US and the EU.-VNA
VNA
