Increasing the efficiency of cultivating and processing tea

Tea plants cover about 14,000 hectares and contribute significantly to the province’s agricultural and processing industries. To increase value and promote long-term growth, tea plants are gradually boosting production, quality, and processing efficiency.

Tea production for export at UT Tea Investment and Development Company Limited in Van Linh commune, Thanh Ba district.

In recent years, the use of science and technology at all phases of tea production, from harvesting to processing, has helped to improve efficiency. New, high-quality tea types make up 78% of the province’s tea acreage, with concentrated production areas totaling 5,800 hectares. The type of industrial organization continues to evolve, and the combined production and consumption area exceeds 5,000 hectares. Tea tree income is expected to be worth 1,640 billion VND by 2023, with an average of 116.5 million VND per hectare.

The tea processing plant system is rapidly expanding, with an average processing output of around 60,000 tons per year. Among them are almost 60 firms, cooperatives, and manufacturing facilities capable of processing more than one ton of fresh tea buds each day, as well as over 800 domestic manual tea processing facilities. Green tea and other forms of tea, such as flavored tea and matcha, account for around 30% of total output. The Phu Tho Tea certification mark received a protection certificate in 2020, which helped to improve the reputation, economic worth, and competitiveness of the province’s tea goods.

Thanh Nam Tea Cooperative in Thanh Son district has a cultivation area of 20 hectares and works with around 80 tea growing households in Thanh Son and Tan Son districts. The cooperative’s processing capacity is around 1 ton of fresh tea buds/day. Ms. Duong Thi Duyen, Director of the Cooperative, stated that the Cooperative began as a household-scale factory and was founded in 2020 to connect tea growing families, produce a range of green tea products, and expand processing capacity. Currently, the cooperative is outfitted with a reasonably synchronized mechanical system, including sorting machines, upgraded tea jars, and packaging machines. The cooperative offers approximately 15 different items to fulfill the varying demands of its clients."

Some enterprises and cooperatives invest in creating concentrated raw material regions related with tea processing via the use of innovative technology, improved management systems, and stringent food safety controls at all levels of the tea production, processing, and consumption chain. Over 20 firms across the province are presently using ISO and HACCP-compliant quality management systems. Many firms and production facilities have used post-harvest, processing, and preservation technologies, first heavily processing and diversifying goods with high-quality green tea and Oolong tea product lines, matcha, and bottled tea beverages...

UT Tea Investment and Development Company Limited, located in Van Linh commune, Thanh Ba district, specializes in the production of black and green tea for export, with a processing capacity of around 1,000 tons per year. Ms. Le Thi Hong Phuong, the Company’s Director, stated: "In order to enhance the relationship with tea producers and link processing with raw material regions, the Company now cooperates and sells goods with 300 tea producing families covering an area of 320 hectares. We establish tight manufacturing procedures, invest in machinery and technology, comprehensively professionalize production and commercial activities, assure food hygiene and safety, and produce high-quality products capable of competing in the market. In addition, the Company is investing in improving raw material regions and production techniques for purple bud tea, a traditional product of Thanh Ba district, in order to fully realize the potential and value of this specialized product."

One of the most important variables in increasing the value of tea is enhancing processing efficiency. In the future, the province will continue to encourage enterprises to engage in growing raw material regions linked with deep processing of tea products, therefore strengthening the Phu Tho Tea brand. Adjust the product structure, focusing on the sowing and processing steps. Reorganize production in the goal of increasing contractual linkages between processing firms, cooperatives, and cooperative groups, as well as developing raw material areas and acquiring goods.

Nguyen Hue