Vietnam Tea Prices Surge

Vietnam Tea Prices Surge

The prices of tea products from Vietnam, the world’s sixth largest tea exporter, have risen substantially in the international market and are likely to remain steady in the coming months, the Ministry of Trade said on March 20.

During the last week, Vietnam’s tea prices were standing at USUS$1,100 to USUS$1,200 per ton, up 24 per cent from last year, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the domestic price of a ton of raw tea material was at VND3,200 a kilo.

In 2004, prices were below USUS$1,000 per ton on average, equivalent to just 60 per cent of global tea prices, the ministry said.

The ministry added that Vietnam’s tea exports to major markets like Russia and the US were growing strongly. Tea exports to the Russian market alone will possibly surge past 5,000 tons this year.

Vietnam is forecast to ship around 100,000 tons of tea products worth USUS$107 million in 2005, posting year-on- year increases of 3 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, against 2004. It shipped abroad around 10,700 tons of tea products worth USUS$10.9 million in the first two months of this year.

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