Taiwan Still Lures Vietnamese Tea Exporters

Taiwan remains a promising market for Vietnamese tea exporters, according to Duong Van Co, Vietnam’s Trade Counselor in Taiwan.

 

Taiwan annually imports large quantities of tea not only to meet domestic demand but also to re-export to other countries, said Co, adding that Taiwan is Vietnam’s top tea importer.

 

Vietnam’s exported tea last year valued at US$14 million to Taiwan, representing an on-year increase of 13 per cent and accounting for 61 per cent of Taiwanese total imports, according to statistics from the Taiwanese Directorate of General of Customs.

However, export prices for Vietnamese tea are lower than those of other countries at around US$1,000 per ton, said Co. He suggested domestic enterprises to focus on improving tea processing facilities, the quality of tea products, and step up promotional activities to catalyze higher export turnover.

 

The nation generated US$30 million from tea exports in the first five months of 2006, a 25 per cent increase on the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Tea Association (Vitas).

 

The country exported 89,000 tons of tea last year valued at US$100 million mainly to India, Japan, the US and Iraq. The figure represents a 10.2 per cent drop in volume but a 4.6 per cent increase in value, it said.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recently predicted the nation’s tea producers would earn US$4.2 billion annually from the export of 120,000 tons of tea each year by 2010.