The tea industry has long been an important sector in Vietnam to not only creates a myriad of jobs for local people, alleviates poverty, but also provides stable incomes for millions of growers across the country. The value chain of the tea industry is operated based on the three main activities: producing raw fresh tea, processing tea, and trading tea products. Some of the important factors affecting the development of the tea industry include tea growers, traders or collectors, processors, distributors, and exporters. In recent years, the tea industry has made great progress in tea growing, processing and trading. Tea production in 2019 will reach 1 million tons on an area of ​​123 thousand hectares. Tea export increased 8% in volume, reaching nearly 137.4 thousand tons, equivalent to 236 million USD. In which, the proportion of black tea and green tea accounted for 39.7% and 39.6% respectively.

Tea farmers in the industry are equipped with knowledge about tea production according to VietGAP standards, organic farming practices, and pesticide residues managing methods. In addition, processing facilities and enterprises are provided with machinery and automated equipment which continuously improves the quality of tea products. Currently, there are 257 industrial-scale tea processors in the Vietnamese tea market, with a workforce of up to 220 thousand people. The total designed capacity is estimated at 5.2 thousand tons of fresh buds/day. There are currently 60% of tea production is manufactured according to industrial process and 40% is hand-processed.

However, besides the achievements, the tea industry has been facing many difficulties. Despite being a country with a large tea export volume in the world, the competitiveness of tea products in terms of quality, designs, and brands in the international market remains low. Therefore, the average export tea price is not high compared to other competitors in the industry. Links in the value chain of the tea industry in Vietnam are weak, especially between enterprises and farmers, with many levels of middlemen collectors. Tea growers in numerous localities do not have proper attention to sustainable value chains. They are willing to break contracts with companies, sell tea to traders who offer higher prices, leading to a shortage of raw materials for processing and exporting enterprises.

After the EVFTA Agreement comes into effect, tea import tax to EU countries will be fully exempted, which is a huge opportunity to expand markets for Vietnamese tea exporters. Therefore, Vietnam needs to strengthen the chain of links between tea production and consumption, improve the quality of tea products, and promote the national brand of Vietnamese tea in the international market to take advantage of this agreement. It is forecasted that the tea market will continue to grow in the long term, especially in the Chinese market. Tea prices will tend to increase in the short term due to a shortage of supply resulting from the disruption in many tea-producing countries worldwide. This is a suitable time for Vietnam's tea industry to boost exports and increase market share in the global market.