HÀ NỘI — The 4th Thái Nguyên – Việt Nam Tea Festival will be organised in the northern province of Thái Nguyên on April 17-19 to promote Vietnamese tea products, honour villages, producers and the tea processing industry as well as introduced local tea to domestic and international market.

The festival will feature a wide range of activities, including an opening ceremony, closing ceremony, a tea culture festival, a beauty contest, and conference on improving Thái Nguyên tea value and brand.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dương Văn Lượng said that the festival offers a good opportunity for tea producers and traders to exchange experience, as well as set up relations with domestic and foreign partners, helping local tea reach out to the world.

Thái Nguyên, located 75 kilometres to the north of Hà Nội, is the country’s second largest tea producer after the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng. Thái Nguyên is well-known for its green, aromatic and black teas. Tea plants have been grown in the province for around 100 years.

Currently, Thái Nguyên province is home to more than 22,000 hectares of tea, with average output of 220,000 tonnes of fresh tea leaves each year. More than 80 per cent of the local tea area is grown into VietGAP standard.

Local tea has been sold in China’s Taiwan, mainland China, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, and several fastidious markets like the EU and North America.

Under the project on increasing added value and sustainably developing Thái Nguyên tea brand during 2017-20, the province is striving to have 30 per cent of its tea planting area certified with VietGAP standard, and develop at least one high-tech tea production zone in each district, town and city.

Besides, the province targets 30 per cent of its tea output labeled with domestic trademark protection and joining in the global value chain, and 20 per cent of its high-quality exported to international markets. — VNS