Developing Vietnam's tea industry according to Halal standards to increase exports to Pakistan

Currently, Vietnamese tea only meets more than 3% of Pakistan's tea demand.

In order to promote economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Pakistan, especially to increase the export of Vietnamese tea products to Pakistan, the Embassy and Trade Office of Vietnam in Pakistan coordinated with the Pakistan Tea Association to organize a live and online seminar on "Developing Vietnam's tea industry according to Halal standards to increase exports to Pakistan".

The online conference in Vietnam was attended by representatives from Lam Dong, Thai Nguyen, Lai Chau, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces, which are the provinces with the largest tea production in Vietnam, and Vietnamese tea exporting enterprises; Vietnam Tea Association; Vietnam Halal Certification Center (VHCC); and the Pakistan Halal Authority in Islamabad (PHA) was attended online in Pakistan. The in-person conference was held at the headquarters of the Pakistan Tea Association in Karachi with the Chairman of the Pakistan Tea Association (PTA), members of the Pakistan Tea Association and some major tea importers of Pakistan.

In his opening speech, Vietnamese Ambassador to Pakistan Pham Anh Tuan warmly welcomed delegates from 14 locations attending the Conference, highly appreciated and affirmed that the large participation of provinces and cities with the largest tea output in Vietnam at the Conference demonstrated deep interest in the Pakistani market, a market of more than 240 million people with much room for Vietnamese enterprises to increase exports.

View of the workshop to promote Halal tea export to Pakistan (live and online).

In 2024, the total two-way import-export turnover between Vietnam and Pakistan will reach 850 million USD, an increase of 22% compared to 2023, of which Vietnam will export 522 million USD to Pakistan and import 328 million USD from Pakistan. Tea exports to Pakistan and Afghanistan alone will reach 127 million USD, the largest tea export market, accounting for 43% of Vietnam's total tea output to the world .

The Ambassador affirmed that in the tea sector alone, Pakistan still has a lot of room for Vietnamese enterprises to increase exports. Currently, Vietnamese tea only meets more than 3% of Pakistan's tea demand, especially black tea products that only meet 0.1% of the market's demand. The Ambassador suggested that the Chairman of VHCC and the Chairman of PHA give speeches focusing on Pakistan's and the region's Halal regulations and standards to inform and guide Vietnamese tea import and export enterprises to Pakistan more conveniently.

The Ambassador thanked the Chairman of PTA for closely coordinating with the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy to organize this Workshop. Ambassador Pham Anh Tuan called on Pakistani businesses to soon establish market survey teams and contact Vietnamese businesses, through the support of the Trade Office and the Vietnamese Embassy in Pakistan.

Assessing the Pakistani tea market, Trade Manager Nguyen Thi Diep Ha said that the Pakistani market has a high and stable demand for tea products, including tea imported from Vietnam. Tea is the most popular drink in the lives of Pakistani people from urban to rural areas, from rich to poor households. Therefore, tea is one of the 12 essential commodities for which the Pakistani government must ensure supply and stabilize market prices.

Pakistani and Vietnamese businesses actively expressed their opinions and shared information at the Workshop.

Pakistan is the world's largest tea importer with an import volume of 244 thousand tons, worth 634 million USD in 2024. Vietnam is only the fourth largest tea exporter in this market after Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Vietnam is a country with many favorable conditions for developing the tea industry, including suitable climate, land and diversity of tea varieties. However, the Vietnamese tea industry needs to focus on improving quality to export higher value tea. On the other hand, to increase tea export output to this market, Vietnamese enterprises need to focus on investing in equipment to produce black tea for export and the product structure needs to change from OTD tea to CTC black tea to suit the needs and tastes of the Pakistani market.

Mr. Ramlan Bin Osman - Director of the National Halal Certification Center (HALCERT) - Ministry of Science and Technology said that currently, Vietnam's GDP growth rate is averaging from 6% to 7% per year, showing a strong domestic economy with high potential. Vietnam also possesses abundant potential raw tea resources for the Halal industry, showing great potential in producing tea products for export. The Center will actively support Vietnamese enterprises exporting to Pakistan in particular and the world Halal market in general.

During the discussion, Pakistani and Vietnamese businesses actively expressed their opinions, connected information, and developed cooperation plans to promote the cultivation and processing of tea products that meet Halal standards to increase Vietnam's tea import and export to the region. The Vietnamese Embassy and Trade Office in Pakistan provided information and answered many questions, including many questions related to the difficulties of Pakistani visitors when applying for online visas to Vietnam, not only for tourists but also for businessmen and scholars attending scientific seminars, trade promotion, etc. Providing information and guidance, connecting businesses of the two countries to increase delegation exchanges, promote trade of tea products and agricultural products in Vietnam.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/phat-trien-nganh-che-viet-nam-theo-tieu-chuan-halal-de-tang-cuong-xuat-khau-sang-pakistan-319547.html