Due to crop failure, the price of green tea in Nghe An has doubled.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha's family in Hamlet 4, Cao Son Commune, cultivates 1 hectare of tea plants. Every year, starting in February of the lunar calendar, the tea plants yield their first harvest of the year, which is also the most productive. On average, she sells about 100 bundles of green tea leaves to traders each day. However, this year, at this time, the green tea plants harvested before Tet (Lunar New Year) have not yet sprouted.

Ms. Ha said: “The tea plants that were harvested 2-3 months ago still haven't sprouted despite careful weeding and fertilizing. This year, the prolonged cold weather after Tet prevented the tea plants from budding and growing branches. Currently, all the tea has been harvested, and traders are asking to buy it, but there is no tea left to cut and sell.”

Not only Ms. Ha's family, but most of the tea plantations in Cao Son commune have already been pruned and sold before Tet, so the tea plants haven't had time to sprout new shoots and branches. The tea hills are left with only stumps, and the people have lost a main source of income.

Mr. Ha Huy Thach, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Cao Son commune, said: "The entire commune has over 560 hectares of green tea for food and for selling as cut branches. This is the main crop of the locality, bringing in tens of billions of dong in revenue each year. Some households that grow a lot earn 1-1.5 million dong per day."

However, this year, due to the prolonged cold weather and frost, the tea plants that were harvested earlier have not sprouted or developed. Currently, the farmers are focusing on caring for them. Most worryingly, when the tea plants sprout again, they will face drought, leading to a severe crop failure and significant losses.”

Due to crop failure, tea prices have nearly doubled, from 10-12 thousand to 15-18 thousand dong per bundle, but supply remains scarce. Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang, a tea trader, said that even with high prices, it is difficult to find tea.

Not only tea growers suffered losses, but traders, tea pickers, and transporters were also affected. Many small traders from Vinh, Do Luong, and Dien Chau came all the way to collect tea but found no tea to pick, forcing many to return empty-handed.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tri, a tea farmer in Linh Son commune (Anh Son district), said: “Tea trees are the main source of income for my family; our daily expenses depend on them. It's almost the third lunar month, the end of spring, and the tea plants haven't sprouted yet, so we've lost a significant source of income. This year, with the leap month of June in the lunar calendar, according to experience, there will be a severe drought, causing the tea plants to sprout and branch late. If there's a lot of sunshine, it will be a major crop failure…”

Due to a poor harvest in Cao Son, the "tea granary" of Thanh Chuong, green tea from other localities has fetched higher prices. Although not the original, high-quality green tea, Thanh Chuong green tea is being sought after by traders at double the price of previous years. Ms. Yen Dat's family (Hanh Lam, Thanh Chuong) cultivates 3 sao (approximately 0.3 hectares) of tea for cutting. Previously, she sold each bundle (1.5-2 kg) for 10,000 VND, but now the price has doubled to 20,000 VND per bundle.

"Previously, tea leaves were cut and sold to retailers in local markets. Since after Tet (Lunar New Year), traders have been coming directly to the gardens to place orders, including traders from Vinh. Tea is expensive and easy to sell, so households like ours that grow cut green tea leaves are very happy," said Ms. Yen.

Currently, in the province, besides the famous Cao Son tea plantation, cut green tea is widely grown in Thong Nhat hamlet, Dong Son commune (Do Luong district), some localities in Thanh Chuong district such as Thanh Duc, Thanh Huong, Hanh Lam, and a few semi-mountainous communes in Nam Dan and Hung Nguyen districts.

The demand for green tea as a daily beverage has increased sharply in recent years, while the area under tea cultivation is decreasing due to many regions and people switching to industrial tea cultivation; the area of ​​tea gardens owned by many households is shrinking… therefore, green tea as an edible beverage is becoming increasingly valuable.