During the main season, tea prices in Nghe An dropped sharply due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Currently, tea growers in Nghe An are entering the peak harvest season. Although productivity is higher than in previous years, the purchase price of fresh tea buds has decreased sharply compared to previous years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so the selling price is only about 50% of the previous price.

Many tea growers in Thanh Chuong have seen their income decrease by 50% due to the sharp drop in tea prices. Photo: Van Ly

Mr. Luong Van Vien's family - Da Bia hamlet, Thanh Mai commune (Thanh Chuong) currently has 3 hectares of commercial tea in the harvest period. According to Mr. Luong, currently each kilogram of fresh tea buds only costs 3,000 VND/kg, so each hectare of tea the family only earns about 50% of the previous income.

"Even though the factory buys at a cheap price, we still have to sell to get back some capital to invest in the next batches. If we don't harvest on time, the entire tea area will be ruined," Mr. Vien shared.

According to tea purchasing and processing units, due to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, foreign markets cannot trade, so tea is in large quantities in stock. Although prices are low, tea processing units still purchase tea for people to maintain tea acreage for factories to continue to have raw materials, create jobs for workers and income for people here.

Thanh Mai Commune (Thanh Chuong) currently has 411 hectares of industrial tea, of which more than 700 households earn income from growing tea. Up to this point, people are focusing on entering the peak harvest. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the price of fresh tea buds has dropped to only 3,000 VND/kg, only half of last year.

Mr. Ha Quang Nam - Vice Chairman of Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee said: Currently, the biggest difficulty for tea growers is the low prices due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We recommend that people continue to maintain the existing area, focus on fertilization, and prevent drought during the hot season so that the next crop will have more income.

Thanh Chuong currently has more than 5,000 hectares of industrial tea, a locality with a relatively large tea area compared to the whole province. To help people overcome difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic, the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district is encouraging people to focus on caring for, preventing pests and diseases, and preventing drought for tea plants during the hot season, so that the tea plants can grow best, focusing on maintaining the existing area.

Although the price of fresh tea buds has dropped sharply, people in Anh Son district still focus on investing in tea properly and promptly, so tea productivity remains high. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Anh Son district currently has 2,265 hectares of tea, of which 1,615 hectares are for commercial purposes. The annual output of fresh tea buds in Anh Son district is 19,582 tons. According to the people, the price of fresh tea buds in Anh Son has been decreasing since the beginning of the season. Mr. Tran Minh Hoan - Chairman of Hung Son Commune People's Committee said that at the beginning of the season, the price of tea purchased by factories was 3,000 VND/kg, but in recent days it has decreased to 2,600 VND/kg. Meanwhile, at this time last year, the price of tea was over 5,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Dang Dinh Luan - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Anh Son district said that, in the face of the sharp drop in fresh tea bud prices due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, the district directed the communes to propagate and encourage people not to neglect tea trees, but instead to actively take care of them properly and promptly... Hopefully, when the Covid-19 epidemic stops spreading, tea prices will increase again like previous years./.