With unsold tea and delayed wages for workers, Bien Ho Tea Joint Stock Company decided to destroy hundreds of hectares of tea plantations and switch to coffee cultivation.
The vast tea plantations, some over 100 years old, in the Biển Hồ area are likely to disappear as businesses clear them to plant coffee - Photo: TAN LUC
The decision to destroy hundreds of hectares of tea plantations has left many feeling regretful, as the picturesque image of the Biển Hồ tea hills, which has existed since the French colonial era, may no longer exist.
A century-old tea plantation faces the risk of disappearing.
According to the company's leaders, the Bien Ho tea plantation has a history of over 100 years, dating back to when the French began planting tea in the area in 1921. However, throughout history, most of the tea plants have been replaced or replanted, with only a few old tea plants remaining.
According to Tuoi Tre Online 's report on March 29, a large area of tea plantations belonging to the company in Nghia Hung commune, Chu Pah district, has been destroyed.
In the tea plantations, tea plants are being uprooted by excavators, and holes are being dug in preparation for planting coffee seedlings. Some areas that were cleared early have already been planted with coffee seedlings, which are growing well.
Hundreds of hectares of tea plantations belonging to Bien Ho Tea Joint Stock Company have been cleared to prepare for coffee cultivation - Photo: TAN LUC
Following this information, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Gia Lai province (now the Department of Agriculture and Environment) conducted an on-site inspection of the area.
After inspection, the agency concluded that the Bien Ho Tea Joint Stock Company's unilateral action of clearing its tea plantations to plant coffee without the approval of the Provincial People's Committee violated the land use plan after privatization and the Law on Crop Production. Therefore, the agency requested the company to cease all activities related to clearing the plantations pending instructions from the Provincial People's Committee.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Cong Tien, director of Bien Ho Tea Joint Stock Company, said that the crop conversion aims to bring high efficiency, increase income and stabilize the lives of workers.
The company argues that the conversion to coffee cultivation does not violate the Law on Crop Production because coffee is also a key crop of the locality and conversion is permitted.
Workers of Bien Ho Tea Joint Stock Company harvest tea on the remaining areas on the morning of March 29 - Photo: TAN LUC
Mr. Tien said that in recent years the tea industry has faced many difficulties, with products not selling well. To date, foreign partners still owe the company 13 billion VND, and the prospects for tea in the future are very uncertain.
Meanwhile, coffee prices have remained consistently high in recent years, bringing significant profits to growers. The transformation will improve business efficiency and better care for the lives of workers.
According to Mr. Tien, after privatization, the company became 100% privately owned, giving them full control over its assets. At the time of privatization, there was only a commitment to the province to maintain the status quo for three years, which has now expired.
Addressing concerns that cutting down the tea plants would spoil the landscape and diminish its appeal to tourists, Mr. Tien stated that the company is very conscious of this and has proactively preserved over 60 hectares of tea plants to create a habitat for tourism development in areas frequented by tourists, such as the centuries-old pine groves and Buu Minh Pagoda.
Is switching to coffee farming the solution?
After receiving information about the incident, the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee chaired a meeting to hear reports from relevant departments regarding the conversion of tea plantations to coffee plantations by Bien Ho Tea Joint Stock Company.
According to Mr. Duong Mah Tiep, Vice Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee, the company's production and business have been operating at a loss in recent years because its tea products cannot be exported and are difficult to sell domestically.
Therefore, the company needs to make changes to improve land use efficiency, increase company profits, and boost employee income.
Coffee plants thrive on the tea plantation land of Bien Ho Tea Joint Stock Company - Photo: TAN LUC
Therefore, the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to guide the company in completing the application for adjusting the land use plan to convert a portion of the low-yield tea plantation area to coffee cultivation.
The conversion excludes tea plantations associated with tourist landscapes such as the centuries-old pine forest, Buu Minh Pagoda, and Ya Lu Lake. It is known that the company's land area after privatization is 607 hectares, of which 585 hectares are agricultural land used for tea and coffee cultivation and land along the boundaries of plots.
Ms. T., a worker at Bien Ho Tea Joint Stock Company, said that in order to convert tea plantations to coffee plantations, contract workers have to pay the company. For the conversion of 5 acres of tea plantations to coffee, Ms. T. had to pay 50 million VND, an amount the company promised to repay gradually in the future.
In addition, the workers have to bear the costs of removing tea plants, digging holes for planting coffee, buying seedlings, fertilizers, pesticides, etc., themselves.
According to Ms. T., not everyone agrees with the policy of changing crops, but in recent years, the tea business has faced difficulties, and the company has been slow to pay salaries. Conversely, with the high price of coffee, people hope that switching to coffee cultivation will be a lifeline, helping workers to alleviate their economic hardship.
Thai Nguyen tea plants affirm their position.Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cong-ty-che-bien-ho-pha-hang-tram-hecta-che-de-trong-ca-phe-vi-thua-lo-20250329142716784.htm
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