According to the General Department of Customs statistics, Vietnam’s tea exports in March 2022 reached 8.18 thousand tons, equivalent to a turnover of 13.34 million USD, up 36.4% in quantity and 50.3% in turnover compared to February. However, compared to March 2021, the export volume was down 20% in quantity and 16.6% in turnover.
In the first 3 months of 2022, Vietnam’s tea exports were 22.95 thousand tons, achieving a turnover of 36.7 million USD, down 11.9% in quantity and 11.3% in turnover over the same period in 2022.
Vietnam’s average tea export prices in March 2022 were 1,631 USD/ton, increasing by 1.9% over the same period in 2021. In the first quarter of 2022, the average tea export price was 1,599.4 USD/ton, a slight increase of 0.66% compared to the first quarter of 2021.
In February 2022, Vietnam mostly exported tea to Pakistan and Russia. These markets accounted for 23.1% and 15.2% of Vietnam’s total tea exports.
Vietnam’s tea exports to several markets declined in February. For example, exports to Indonesia were down 28.33%, Malaysia by 18.51%, and Iraq by 72.02% in turnover over January 2022.
On the other hand, tea exports to some markets recorded significant increases. In February, exports to India were up 948.5% in quantity and 398.8% in turnover, while exports to the US were up 131.9% in quantity and 138.9% in turnover over February 2021.
In the first 2 months of 2022, India was Vietnam’s fastest-growing tea exporting market. Tea exports to this market increased by 467.8% in quantity and 387.4% in turnover compared to the same period in 2021.
Aside from India, the US is one large tea exporting market of Vietnam. Vietnam is currently the 5th largest tea supplier in the US.
According to statistics from the US International Trade Commission (USITC), US tea imports in January 2022 reached 8.65 thousand tons, worth 40.6 million USD, up 2% in volume and 13 .4% in value compared to January 2021. The average price of imported tea into the US in January 2022 reached 4,688.7 USD/ton, up 11.3% compared to January 2021.
Argentina, China, and India are the 3 main tea supplying markets for the US, imported tea from these 3 markets accounted for 57.7% of total tea imported to the US in January 2022.
Vietnam is the 5th largest tea supplier to the US, the volume and value of imports from Vietnam both increased in January 2022, the import price of tea from Vietnam was at 1,668.6 USD/ton, up 22.5% compared to January 2021. The proportion of tea imports from Vietnam in total tea imports to the US increased by 0.5 percentage points compared to January 2021.
(First 2 months of 2022)
Asia Tea Company Limited, Future Generation Phu Tho Company Limited, and SSOE Phu Tho Tea Company Limitedwere Vietnam’s top three tea exporters in the first two months of 2022
It is forecasted that Vietnam's tea exports will grow positively in the second quarter of 2022, thanks to positive signals from the import market.
Specifically, the trend of tea consumption increases because consumers have to stay at home more. Tariff incentives from Free Trade Agreements such as EVFTA, CPTPP, etc., also bring advantages to the tea industry in the current fierce competition.
Many tea-producing countries have had production interruptions due to COVID-19 and dry weather, disrupting the supply chain of tea in the global market. Notably, India, one of the world's major tea production and consumption markets, is being seriously affected by the pandemic and drought in the main tea-growing areas.
However, favorable weather conditions in the main tea-producing markets such as Kenya and Sri Lanka caused supply to increase. With demand has not increased much, increased supply pressure will lead to lower export prices. That is also the main factor hindering the growth rate of Vietnam's tea industry in the coming time.
Source: The Ministry of Industry and Trade