Myanmar tea growers seek to break into international market

Yangon April 5

Myanmar Tea Growers and Producers Association is taking steps to value-add tea leaf in its bid to penetrate international market. German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ), a German aid agency, will provide technical assistance to help the association get into Europe and Asia market in 2019. The German agency’s assistance will focus on raising the quality of tea products by improving production system. In addition, it will also help the association to earn international certifi cates.

The association expects to get foreign market for pickled tea leaves and dried tea leaves—sweet and bitter tastes.

In Myanmar, tea is mainly grown in Shan State, almost covering an area of 50,000 acres of land under tea cultivation in Kyaukme, Namhsan, Mengtung, Laukkai, Muse, Namkhan, Tanyan in northern Shan State and Pinlaung, Pindaya and Ywangan in southern Shan State.

An acre of tea yields around 350 to 500 viss (one viss is equal to 3.6 lb) and a viss of tea only fetches around 1,000 kyats, said Myanmar Tea Growers and Producers Association.

The association said the plan to export pickled tea leaves to Germany has been put off until June because of some quality problems. Initially, it was planned to export tea leaf to Germany early this year.

At present, Germany is ranked seven in consumption of tea, said an offi cial from the association. The country needs to switch to mechanized production system to raise the quality of tea leaf, he said. Green Tea Co, a Tokyo-based tea producer in Japan, has also offered Myanmar tea growers to  export pickled tea leaves to Japan as a new line of product.

Min Thant

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