Economy

Lesson 3: Locating Nghe An tea trees?

Hoai Thu, Thu Huyen • April 26, 2025 12:57

Nghe An tea once had a special position as an agricultural product exported to many countries around the world. However, the quality of raw materials is not guaranteed, there are limitations in processing and preservation technology; the brand has not been built in the market, causing the product value to be low; many tea factories that were once operating effectively now have to operate at a standstill, or have closed down,...

Nghe An tea once had a special position as an agricultural product exported to many countries around the world. However, the quality of raw materials is not guaranteed, there are limitations in processing and preservation technology; the brand has not been built in the market, causing the product value to be low; many tea factories that were once operating effectively now have to operate at a standstill, or have closed down,...

Thu Huyen - Hoai Thu• April 25, 2025

Tea used to be a strength of Nghe An in the 1990s and 2000s. Recognizing the importance of the brand, since 2003, Nghe An Tea Investment and Development Company has cooperated with Thu Do Intellectual Property and Technology Company Limited to build the brand. In 2003, the Ngheantea brand was registered by the Intellectual Property Department and the General Department of Standards and Quality Measurement has issued barcodes for the Company's products. In addition to the protected logo and label, the Company also focuses on creating trust with customers about product quality and competitive prices; has many advanced processing lines imported from India. The Company has applied scientific and technical advances to raw material production as well as processing and preservation. At that time, there were many products known to consumers such as Kim Lien premium green tea, Kim Lien green tea, Kim Lien jasmine tea, Kim Lien black tea...

In the districts of Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Con Cuong, many tea factories such as Thanh Mai, Ngoc Lam, Hanh Lam, Hung Son, Bai Phu... have their products purchased by Nghe An Tea Corporation.

It was a golden age, but then the old way of doing business was no longer suitable for the market trend, both the factory and the tea material area became increasingly deserted; many factory lines fell into a state of "sleeping", rusting, and dusting. The brand "Nghe An Tea" was only a glorious past.

Coming to Thanh Chuong tea area in March 2025, on the hills covered with green tea leaves, it is being harvested. In the memories of many farmers who are attached to the tea growing profession in Thanh Mai and Hanh Lam communes, these used to be the vast tea capitals, the raw material areas of the famous Nghe An Tea Company. However, after equitization, due to many reasons, state-owned tea factories gradually shrank. Many private establishments sprung up to compete with state-owned companies. Currently, in Thanh Chuong district, there are more than 30 processing establishments, there are times when there is a shortage of raw materials to operate and they have to buy from Ha Tinh and other localities.

Currently, Nghe An's annual output of finished dry tea reaches about 12,500-13,000 tons, but because of low quality and no brand, the products are mainly processed raw. Each year, over 10,000 tons of dry tea are exported to "easy" markets in the Middle East, India, a small amount to China, Taiwan, etc., with a value of about 20 million USD/year. Current reality shows that Nghe An tea has not found a place in demanding markets such as the EU, the US, Japan, etc.

Some managers as well as many other tea production facility owners in Thanh Chuong and Anh Son districts also admit that because the quality of tea is not as good as in other localities, they can only sell their products to easy-going markets such as the Middle East. Products that are packaged, labeled, and have a clear origin and reach consumers account for a small proportion.

Truong Thinh Tea Company is a well-known processing enterprise in Thanh Chuong district. However, returning to the factory in the first days of the year, the factory was not in production, the entire campus was deserted. Mr. Chu Quang Thanh - manager of Truong Thinh Tea Factory, Thanh Chuong district said: "This processing facility has a capacity of 30-40 tons/day/factory, creating jobs for dozens of workers. There were genuine tea products, tea pieces, and CTC black tea before, but now production has also slowed down. During the years of the epidemic, output was difficult, many households destroyed tea. In 2024, production and business were stable, but from the beginning of the year until now, the spring tea crop has been small, there is not enough raw material to operate, so the factory has focused on maintaining machinery."

Harsh climate, many years of drought, poor tea quality, and lack of proper attention to the product brand have made the tea tree unable to establish its position. Many times, the fresh tea buds from the hills, soaked in the efforts, sweat and tears of the people, had to be sold at a cheap price of 3,000-4,000 VND/kg. The tea of ​​Nghe An farmers fell into a difficult situation.

Mr. Bui Van Son - Owner of Son Tam tea processing facility in Thanh Tung commune (Thanh Chuong), with more than 40 years of experience with tea trees, said that for many years, the current industrial tea material areas in Thanh Chuong, Anh Son and Con Cuong districts have been competing to buy and sell tea materials. In order to sell more tea, many tea growers have "over-harvested" regardless of picking techniques, as long as there is a lot of tea to sell... After each time picking by machine, the tea trees are "hurt" so their growth gradually slows down, and some tea trees and tea beds even die if they encounter severe drought. And that also leads to the quality of tea products not being competitive, only being used as raw materials for other companies to reprocess.

Similarly, in Anh Son district, tea is identified as one of the three main crops in the area. Besides sugarcane and cassava, but those who are attached to Anh Son land and understand tea are all bitter: When will the old days come back? Nghe An Tea Investment and Development Company Limited has made an important contribution to the strong development of the area and value of tea products, but up to now, the three units Bai Phu Tea Enterprise, Hung Son Tea Enterprise, Anh Son Tea Enterprise (CTC Black Tea Factory) are all "half-dead".

Tea trees are the main source of income for many households in Nghe An. Along with growing raw tea, many tea processing facilities operate, creating jobs for many local workers. Currently, the whole province has 35 processing factories, concentrated in Thanh Chuong and Anh Son districts. The total tea processing capacity of the whole province reaches 324 tons of fresh buds/day, linked to the tea material areas in Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Con Cuong and Quy Hop districts.

However, due to improper tea cultivation techniques and the race for productivity and output, growers often abuse inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, leading to unsafe tea products. At the same time, the soil for growing tea becomes hard and loses its porosity, thereby gradually reducing the productivity of tea plants and affecting the quality of tea. Recently, unstable tea prices have further limited investment in tea plants...

Regarding Thanh Chuong district, many tea establishment owners in the area are concerned about the local tea brand, asking the question "Where is Nghe An tea on the map of Vietnamese tea"? Thanh Chuong district is a locality with strengths and traditions in tea in general and industrial tea in particular. Tea is a perennial industrial crop with a long economic cycle but quickly yields products. For people in mountainous districts, including Thanh Chuong district, it can be said that tea is a tree that eliminates hunger and reduces poverty. In many resolutions of the district Party Congress, tea is identified as one of the key crops, promoting the economic development of the district. However, for tea to develop sustainably and have value is still a difficult problem.

Mr. Le Ngoc Phuc - Director of Phuc Hung Thinh Tea Company Limited, with production headquarters in Thanh Thinh Commune (Thanh Chuong), is a young boss who is always struggling to find ways to improve the quality of tea products and build the Nghe An tea brand. Pouring a cup of tea to invite guests, Mr. Phuc pondered, sharing that although the tea tree is associated with his grandfather and father's life, up to now, Nghe An tea is still a strange name to tea connoisseurs in many localities across the country. People know about Thai Nguyen and Lam Dong tea, but when it comes to Nghe An tea, it is not "in memory". That is why most of Nghe An tea consumed in localities is only processed raw, under a different name.

In recent years, to bring Thanh Chuong tea products to domestic and international markets, tea production and processing facilities in the district have quickly applied science and technology to the production line system to improve productivity, improve product quality and reduce labor.

As one of the tea processing and production facilities that the district and locality are interested in, in 2023, Phuc Hung Thinh tea products were certified as 3-star OCOP products. Phuc Hung Thinh tea products have participated in almost all exhibition booths organized by the district and province and are present in more than 25 provinces and cities nationwide. "Phuc Hung Thinh Tea Factory with an annual capacity of processing about 2,000 tons of fresh tea buds has produced many different types of products, with the main focus being processing Moc Cau tea, tea... In addition, the company also processes jasmine and pineapple scented tea to serve the market in the southern provinces from Hue to Ca Mau. This is also a market with a large number of tea users, so it can develop sustainably. This is the initial result for us to continue to focus on improving quality, building image, and focusing on the domestic market", Mr. Le Ngoc Phuc shared.

To enhance the value of tea products in particular and agricultural products of the district in general, in 2024, Phuc Hung Thinh tea processing facility boldly invested in building an OCOP product display area and Phuc Hung Thinh rest stop. Currently, the display area has 14 3-star certified OCOP products on display to promote the brand of the district's products, which has initially had positive effects, and visiting delegations have given good reviews for the products.

The owner of Phuc Hung Thinh tea establishment is one of the “young people” who always worry about the brand of his hometown tea, wishing to contribute his efforts and intelligence to improve product quality, find markets, and build product brands. That wish is not beyond the expectation of improving the lives of tea growers, staying close to the hills and staying close to his hometown…

With the same aspirations and concerns about the value of the homeland's tea trees not being promoted to their full potential - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Hung Son Commune Nguyen Xuan Ty shared: The whole commune has nearly 500 hectares of tea, providing a source of livelihood for hundreds of households. However, the economic efficiency from the tea trees is still not commensurate with their value. The cause is still the inadequacy and consequences of unscientific farming methods and the abuse of pesticides, and the lack of perseverance in the direction of clean agriculture despite guidance and encouragement.

Recently, Mr. Ty and the commune officials also visited and learned about the experience of growing and producing tea in some localities inside and outside the province with the hope of finding ways to increase the value of Hung Son tea. "Currently, we are calling for social investment in production machinery and equipment to support people in growing green, clean, VietGAP and organic tea. We hope that households will agree and persevere in implementing it to build a brand for Hung Son tea in particular and Nghe An tea in general," said Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ty.

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According to the Vietnam Tea Association, there are currently 455 tea processing factories nationwide, but only over 300 have a capacity of about 1 ton/day, the rest are mostly small factories with outdated technology and because only 5% of factories have their own raw material areas, there is often a situation of competition to buy raw materials. In Nghe An, a similar situation occurs but cannot be controlled; there are many mini tea processing factories that, due to lack of raw materials, often use many ways to buy tea, without strict requirements on raw material standards...

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