Tea growers joy

(Baonghean) - At this time, tea growers in Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong, Anh Son districts are entering the harvest season with excitement. The smiles of tea growers shine on every face, because the price of fresh tea buds is currently high, much higher than last year...

These days, traveling on Ho Chi Minh road, through Thanh Chuong district, the atmosphere of tea harvesting of farmers is bustling and exciting in the early summer sunshine. Walking along the green tea hills stretching on the hillsides, one can smell the sweet and acrid aroma of fresh tea buds. Tea growers are happy because this year's tea prices have increased significantly compared to before, tea is picked and can be imported immediately and paid for immediately. For generations, people in Thanh Duc, Hanh Lam, Thanh My, Thanh Huong, Thanh Tinh, Thanh An, Thanh Thuy, Thanh An communes... have relied on tea as their main source of income, so when tea prices increase, there is nothing happier.

Tea harvesting at Youth Volunteer Team 5 - Thanh Chuong

Arriving at the Youth Volunteer Corps 5, we stopped at the tea garden of Mr. Le Van Chung. Unable to hide his joy, Mr. Chung confided: His family has more than 1 hectare of 10-year-old tea, currently harvesting the first buds of this season. As soon as the harvest is complete, it is transported to the tea processing factory of the Corps, with a purchase price of 5,000 VND/kg. At this time last year, the price of tea was 3,800 VND/kg. With this price, tea growers are really making a good profit.

Currently, the Youth Volunteer Team 5 has 3 tea production teams, with an area of ​​150 hectares. Mr. Vo Tuan Vi - Deputy Team Leader, said: According to some mass media information, this year, some foreign markets, such as Pakistan and India, have reopened, so dry tea products are consumed strongly, and the purchase price of fresh tea buds has increased. In addition, due to competition in purchasing fresh tea buds between private tea processing factories, there is a price difference. The high price of tea is a condition for tea growing team members to increase their income. However, the spring tea crop has low productivity, but the quality is good, and the fresh bud yield will stabilize from the second crop onwards.

Tea processing at the Tea Processing Factory of Youth Volunteer Team 5

Ngoc Lam Tea Processing Enterprise (under Nghe An Tea Investment and Development One Member Co., Ltd.) is currently the largest tea processing unit in Thanh Chuong district. Mr. Nguyen Van Ky - Deputy Director of the Enterprise, said: On April 24, the enterprise started purchasing the second batch of tea, with an expected purchase price of 3.5 - 4 thousand VND/kg, depending on the type. The total tea area of ​​the enterprise is currently 550 hectares, of which more than 500 hectares have been harvested. The enterprise's tea processing workshop has a capacity of 30 tons of fresh tea buds/day. By assigning the company's products, the enterprise's staff and employees go to the locality to direct, guide, monitor and purchase tea for the people, so during the main season, the enterprise's tea processing workshop operates at full capacity. If 1 hectare of tea is well cultivated, 20 - 25 tons of fresh buds can be harvested each year, but the average tea here is only 15 tons/ha of fresh buds. If the purchase price is stable as it is now, it will be at least 60 million VND/ha/year, of which the cost is about 30%, the tea growers will still make a profit of 70%. In reality, the purchase price of fresh tea buds between private and state-owned tea processing factories has a big difference.

Thanh Chuong district currently has more than 4 thousand hectares of tea, with 3 tea processing enterprises under Nghe An Tea Investment and Development Company Limited. In addition, there are about 40 private tea processing factories, small capacity, located on both sides of Ho Chi Minh road. Observing on Ho Chi Minh road through Thanh Thuy, Thanh Mai, Thanh Ha, Ngoc Lam communes... there are dozens of private tea processing factories. In the afternoon, people use motorbikes and farm vehicles to transport large sacks full of tea for import. In Thanh Thuy commune, the tea purchase price is 5,000 VND/kg, Thanh Mai 5,500 VND/kg, Thanh Ha 5,300 VND/kg. However, according to people's feedback, tea prices are not stable, but fluctuate in short periods, but are always high. At Hung Dung Tea Processing Factory in Thanh Ha commune, people come to import tea at 5.3 thousand VND/kg. They happily said that not only did the tea prices rise, but the tea purchasing facilities also paid immediately, without any debt. Therefore, tea growers have money to earn every day, in a common joy. Thanh Mai commune has the largest tea acreage in Thanh Chuong district. According to our records, there are more than 10 private tea processing factories in the commune, but the purchasing price of each factory is different.

Tea growers in Con Cuong and Anh Son districts have also harvested spring tea for more than a month now, although the purchase price here is somewhat lower than in Thanh Chuong. Mr. Phay Van Bay, in Trung Huong village, Yen Khe commune, excitedly said: His family has 6 sao of tea, more than a month ago, his family harvested the first batch of tea, 1.5 tons, sold it to Minh Dong Tea Processing Factory for 4.2 thousand VND/kg, and got the money right away. If sold to Con Cuong Tea Enterprise, it would be 4,000 VND/kg, but after a while, they would only receive the money. The common mentality of the people is to import tea and have money right away to have money to spend, so they want to sell to private tea processing factories. In a few days, Mr. Bay's family will harvest the second batch of tea, and this batch is expected to harvest about 2 tons of fresh tea buds. According to him, tea growers have a stable income every year. When the tea trees are ready to be harvested, it is not too difficult, just weeding, fertilizing, and harvesting by machine. If this purchase price is maintained for a long time, tea growers will be very excited.

One problem that is currently being raised is the situation of competition between tea purchasing units. According to research, it is known that the most difficult thing at present is that although many tea growers have been invested by the State through the Nghe An Tea Investment and Development One Member Co., Ltd. to grow tea, when they have products, they sell them to private factories. For that reason, the debt of tea growers to the company is still over 20 billion VND. Learning from tea growers, we know that there are 4 main reasons why tea growers want to sell to private tea processing factories: First, the purchase price between state-owned enterprises and private processing factories is different, often private factories buy at a higher price. Second, the payment relationship between private processing factories is faster than that of state-owned enterprises. Third, it is impossible to exclude some families who are lazy, lack a sense of responsibility, and do not want to pay their debts to the enterprises, so they secretly sell tea to private enterprises. And finally, there are families who do not have enough labor so they hire workers to harvest and sell to processing factories near their home to save on transportation costs. The main reason is still the difference in purchase price, so by all means, tea growers bring their products to private processing factories.

Nghe An Tea Investment and Development One Member Co., Ltd. currently has nearly 8,000 hectares of intensive tea cultivation, with 7 tea processing factories. Of which, Thanh Chuong has 3 factories, 5 processing lines, Con Cuong and Anh Son have 4 factories, 6 lines. Currently, the company directs the factories to purchase fresh tea buds at 3 prices: type A over 4,000 VND/kg, type B under 4,000 VND/kg, type C over 3,000 VND/kg. Compared to last year, this year's purchase price has increased by 10 - 15%. However, with the increase in the price of fresh tea buds, we still cannot help but wonder whether this price will be maintained for a long time throughout the tea harvest? According to the leader of Nghe An Tea Investment and Development One Member Co., Ltd., this is only the current price, which cannot be confirmed as long-term. Tea products also depend on foreign consumption markets, especially the Chinese market. Therefore, the sudden high purchase price of fresh tea buds like this is just temporary.

It can be said that at this time, tea growers are earning a significant income. If only tea prices could remain the same throughout the harvest, it would be the dream of tea growers for a long time. For generations, industrial tea has helped tea farmers in Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong and Anh Son have a stable life, and some families have even become rich, especially since Nghe An tea products have penetrated foreign markets.

Article and photos:X.Hoang - H.Phuong