Shan Tuyet Tea and the Dream of Reaching International Level

06:42, December 8, 2023

BHG - Located in the northernmost part of the country, Ha Giang is blessed with majestic high mountain ranges with a cool climate, covered with clouds all year round, creating favorable conditions for Shan Tuyet tea trees to grow and develop. The tea buds "bathe in the wind, drink the dew", the surface is covered with a layer of silvery white snow, sparkling, crystallizing the aspirations of the highlanders to bring this famous delicious tea to the world.

Open the way to wealth

Shan Tuyet tea trees in Ha Giang have existed for a long time, closely associated with the lives of the Dao, Mong, Tay, Nung ethnic groups... Shan Tuyet tea grows on high mountain ranges, in a clean environment, cool climate, so it produces delicious and pure tea buds. With an eye-catching honey-yellow color, astringent taste, sweet aftertaste and characteristic mild aroma, Ha Giang Shan Tuyet tea has become a famous specialty throughout the country.

People of Tung San commune (Hoang Su Phi) harvest Shan Tuyet tea. Photo: Nguyen Phuong

Previously, people mainly picked tea, roasted it, and dried it manually to serve their family's needs and sell it retail, which had low economic value. People also paid little attention to planting and caring for it, and the density of tea planting was not guaranteed, leading to low productivity and output. Clearly identifying Shan Tuyet tea as a local strength, our province has issued many mechanisms and policies to encourage the development of tea trees, such as Resolution 209, Resolution 86 and Resolution 29 of the Provincial People's Council on policies to encourage the development of agricultural commodity production in the province, which has contributed to helping households, cooperatives, and tea production and processing cooperatives access preferential capital to expand production and business. From 2015 to present, 21 households have been supported to borrow intensively and renovate tea gardens with a total capital of over 4.2 billion VND; 1 household has been supported to borrow capital to invest in a tea processing factory with a budget of 500 million VND.

From 2016 to now, our province has implemented a certification program according to GAP standards (VietGAP, Organic) for 11,611.7 hectares of tea/65 regions/63 production facilities. Linking over 9,000 individual tea growing households to form 40 VietGAP tea production facilities and linking with 24 tea processing enterprises and cooperatives to form an organic tea production chain. Currently, in the province, there are 11 enterprises, 13 cooperatives and 290 tea processing and trading establishments and households with a total processing capacity of about 280 tons of fresh tea buds/day. Many cooperatives have been divided into zones to purchase raw materials, sign contracts to consume products, supply materials, fertilizers, and provide technical support to tea growing households. Therefore, the income of tea growing households has increased significantly, reaching an average of about 40 - 70 million VND/ha/year.

Ms. Trieu Mui Mui, Ho Thau commune (Hoang Su Phi) said: Located under Tay Con Linh range, with an altitude of over 1,200 meters above sea level, the climate is cool all year round, so local Shan Tuyet tea has a fragrant, delicious flavor, favored by consumers. In recent years, enterprises and cooperatives in the district have signed contracts with tea growers, with stable output and high prices, so people are very confident in production. Some households in the commune have become well-off thanks to tea trees, with an income of hundreds of millions of VND/year.

Realizing the dream of reaching the world

To date, the province has 20,296 hectares of tea. Of which, the Shan Tuyet tea area is up to more than 18,600 hectares, accounting for 90.28% of the province's tea area, making it the locality with the largest Shan Tuyet tea area in the country. From 2020 to now, the productivity and output of fresh tea buds in the province have always been stable, reaching 47 quintals/ha, with an average fresh tea bud output of over 89 thousand tons/year. It is estimated that in 2022, the production value of the tea industry will reach over 650 billion VND (at current prices), accounting for about 10% of the value of the crop industry.

Consumers learn about products of Phin Ho Tea Processing Cooperative at the Biofach/Vivaness 2022 Organic Trade Fair in Germany. Photo: Contributor

Consumers learn about products of Phin Ho Tea Processing Cooperative at the Biofach/Vivaness 2022 Organic Trade Fair held in Germany. Photo: Contributor

As a product born from the northernmost mountains and forests, with its own quality and value, Ha Giang Shan Tuyet tea has gradually affirmed its brand in the market; it was granted a Geographical Indication by the Department of Intellectual Property (Ministry of Science and Technology) since 2018. Tea processing enterprises and cooperatives have actively innovated technology, diversified products, creating many rich tea lines such as: Green tea, Black tea, White tea, Shan Tien tea, Dragon claw tea, Pu'er pressed tea... Up to now, the whole province has nearly 40 tea products of enterprises, cooperatives, and business households developed into local OCOP products. Impressively, 2 products of Green tea and Black tea in 100 gram boxes of Phin Ho Tea Processing Cooperative, Thong Nguyen commune (Hoang Su Phi) have been recognized as national 5-star OCOP products. Along with that, most of the tea area has been certified to meet Organic and VietGAP standards, has a growing area code, has ISO in production... which is the "passport" to help Ha Giang Shan Tuyet tea reach out to the world.

After many efforts of the Party Committee, government, enterprises, cooperatives, tea production and processing households, up to now, Ha Giang's Shan Tuyet tea products have gradually reached the international market and have been welcomed by consumers. Many diverse tea lines have been exported to more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe, and America. In particular, in 2018 - 2019, Tay Con Linh Cooperative had 5 types of tea winning Gold, Silver, Bronze and Impressive awards at the International Tea Competition held in France. This once again affirms the brand of Ha Giang Shan Tuyet tea in the international arena. According to the Department of Industry and Trade, from 2022 to September 2023, the total output of dried tea buds exported through the border gates of Ha Giang province reached 1,279 tons, with a value of about 2.3 million USD. In addition, some enterprises in the province such as Hung An Tea Company, Cao Bo Tea Company... export to Taiwan and Europe with a total value of over 3 million USD per year on average (not exported through the province's border gates or through other enterprises outside the province).

Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Hai Ly said: In order to promote and enhance the value chain of Ha Giang Shan Tuyet tea products, the industry continues to advise the province to plan, develop and manage tea material areas associated with processing facilities. Encourage people to link and cooperate in the form of household groups, cooperatives with enterprises, and build a sustainable chain. Focus on developing infrastructure, such as electricity, transportation, and irrigation to serve the development of the tea industry. In particular, apply in-depth cultivation and care investment processes; build high-quality, organic material areas; implement new standards in production, ensuring tea products are both safe and of high quality, associated with diversifying tea lines to maintain the brand and bring Ha Giang Shan Tuyet tea further and further into the international market.

NGUYEN PHUONG

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