The joy of tea growers

(Baonghean) - At this time, tea growers in Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong, and Anh Son districts are in the midst of their harvest season with great enthusiasm. Smiles light up the faces of the tea growers, because fresh tea buds are currently fetching high prices, much higher than last year...

These days, traveling along the Ho Chi Minh Highway through Thanh Chuong district, the atmosphere of tea harvesting is bustling and joyful in the early summer sunshine. Walking alongside the verdant tea hills stretching across the slopes, one can smell the sweet and slightly bitter aroma of fresh tea buds. Tea growers are happy for one reason: this year's tea prices have increased significantly compared to before; the harvested tea is sold immediately, and payment is received right away. For generations, the people of Thanh Duc, Hanh Lam, Thanh My, Thanh Huong, Thanh Tinh, Thanh An, Thanh Thuy, and Thanh An communes have relied primarily on tea cultivation for their livelihoods, so the surge in tea prices is a cause for immense joy.

Tea harvesting at Youth Volunteer Brigade 5 - Thanh Chuong.

Upon arriving at the 5th Youth Volunteer Brigade headquarters, we stopped at the tea garden of Mr. Le Van Chung. Unable to hide his joy, Mr. Chung confided: "My family has over 1 hectare of tea plants that are 10 years old, and we are currently harvesting the first batch of buds this season. As soon as we harvest, we transport them to the Brigade's tea processing factory for immediate purchase at a price of 5,000 VND/kg. This time last year, the price was 3,800 VND/kg. With this price, tea growers are really making a good profit."

The Youth Volunteer Brigade 5 currently has 3 tea production teams, covering an area of ​​150 hectares. Mr. Vo Tuan Vi, Deputy Brigade Leader, stated: According to some media reports, this year some foreign markets, such as Pakistan and India, have reopened, leading to strong demand for dried tea and an increase in the purchase price of fresh tea buds. Furthermore, due to competition among private tea processing factories in purchasing fresh tea buds, there is a price difference. The high tea prices create favorable conditions for tea-growing team members to increase their income. However, while the spring tea crop has low yields, the quality is excellent, and the yield of fresh tea buds only stabilizes from the second harvest onwards.

Tea processing at the Tea Processing Factory of the 5th Youth Volunteer Brigade.

Ngoc Lam Tea Processing Enterprise ( thuộc Nghe An Tea Investment and Development Company Limited) is currently the largest tea processing unit in Thanh Chuong district. Mr. Nguyen Van Ky, Deputy Director of the Enterprise, said: On April 24th, the enterprise began purchasing the second crop of tea, with an expected purchase price of 3,500 - 4,000 VND/kg, depending on the type. The total tea area of ​​the enterprise is currently 550 hectares, of which more than 500 hectares are already producing tea. The enterprise's tea processing plant has a capacity of 30 tons of fresh tea leaves per day. By contracting out the company's products, the enterprise's staff and workers go to the local area to supervise, guide, monitor, and purchase tea from the people, so during the peak season, the enterprise's tea processing plant operates at full capacity. One hectare of tea, if intensively cultivated, can yield 20-25 tons of fresh tea leaves per year, but the average yield here is only 15 tons/hectare of fresh tea leaves. If the purchase price remains stable as it is now, tea growers can earn at least 60 million VND/hectare/year, with costs accounting for about 30%, leaving a profit of 70%. In reality, there is a significant difference in the purchase price of fresh tea leaves between private and state-owned tea processing factories.

Thanh Chuong district currently has over 4,000 hectares of tea plantations, with 3 tea processing factories under the Nghe An Tea Investment and Development Company Limited. In addition, there are approximately 40 small-scale private tea processing workshops located along the Ho Chi Minh Highway. Observations along the Ho Chi Minh Highway section passing through the communes of Thanh Thuy, Thanh Mai, Thanh Ha, Ngoc Lam, etc., reveal dozens of private tea processing workshops. In the evenings, people use motorbikes and tractors to transport large sacks of tea to their collection points. In Thanh Thuy commune, the purchase price is 5,000 VND/kg, in Thanh Mai 5,500 VND/kg, and in Thanh Ha 5,300 VND/kg. However, according to local residents, tea prices are unstable, fluctuating in short periods but consistently remaining high. At the Hung Dung tea processing factory in Thanh Ha commune, people are buying tea at 5,300 VND/kg. They excitedly reported that not only were tea prices high, but tea purchasing facilities were paying immediately, without any outstanding debts. Therefore, tea growers were receiving daily income during this period, sharing in the joy of the occasion. Thanh Mai commune has the largest tea growing area in Thanh Chuong district. According to our observations, there are over 10 private tea processing factories in the commune, but the purchase price varies from factory to factory.

Tea growers in Con Cuong and Anh Son districts have been harvesting their spring tea for over a month now, although the purchase price here is somewhat lower than in Thanh Chuong. Mr. Phay Van Bay, from Trung Huong village, Yen Khe commune, happily said: "My family has 6 sao (approximately 0.6 hectares) of tea. More than a month ago, we harvested the first crop of 1.5 tons and sold it to Minh Dong Tea Processing Factory for 4,200 VND/kg, receiving payment immediately. If we sold to Con Cuong Tea Enterprise, the price would be 4,000 VND/kg, but we would only receive payment after some time. The general sentiment among the people is to receive money immediately upon selling the tea so they can have money for expenses, so they prefer selling to private tea processing factories." In a few days, Mr. Bay's family will harvest their second crop, expecting to harvest about 2 tons of fresh tea buds. According to him, tea growers have a stable annual income, and once the tea plants are ready for harvesting, it's not too hard work; they only need to weed, fertilize, and harvest using machines. If this purchase price is maintained in the long term, tea growers will be very happy.

A current problem is the intense competition among tea purchasing units. According to our research, the biggest difficulty is that many tea growers, despite receiving state investment through the Nghe An Tea Investment and Development Company Limited, sell their harvested tea to private processing plants. As a result, the amount of debt owed by tea growers to the company exceeds 20 billion VND. From our interviews with tea growers, we learned that there are four main reasons why they prefer selling to private processing plants: Firstly, there is a price difference between state-owned enterprises and private processing plants, with private plants usually offering higher prices. Secondly, payment arrangements with private processing plants are faster and more convenient than with state-owned enterprises. Thirdly, it cannot be ruled out that some families, due to laziness, lack of responsibility, and unwillingness to repay their debts to the state-owned enterprise, secretly sell their tea to private companies. Finally, some families, lacking labor, hire workers to harvest the tea leaves and sell them to nearby processing plants to save on transportation costs. The main reason remains the price difference between buyers and sellers, so tea growers will do everything they can to deliver their produce to private processing plants.

The Nghe An Tea Investment and Development Company Limited currently has nearly 8,000 hectares of intensively cultivated tea plantations, with 7 tea processing factories. Of these, Thanh Chuong has 3 factories with 5 processing lines, while Con Cuong and Anh Son each have 4 factories with 6 processing lines. Currently, the company directs its factories to purchase fresh tea buds at three prices: Grade A above 4,000 VND/kg, Grade B below 4,000 VND/kg, and Grade C above 3,000 VND/kg. Compared to last year, this year's purchase price has increased by 10-15%. However, given the rising price of fresh tea buds, we are still concerned about whether this price will be sustainable throughout the tea harvest season. According to the leadership of the Nghe An Tea Investment and Development Company Limited, this is only the current price and cannot be guaranteed to be sustainable in the long term. Tea products also depend on foreign markets, especially the Chinese market. Therefore, this sudden surge in the purchase price of fresh tea leaves is only temporary.

It can be said that tea growers are currently earning a considerable income. The long-held wish of tea growers is to have maintained stable tea prices throughout the entire harvest season. For generations, industrial tea cultivation has provided tea farmers in Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong, and Anh Son with stable lives, and some families have even become wealthy, especially since Nghe An tea products have penetrated foreign markets.

Text and photos:X.Hoang - H.Phuong