The VTA said that in 2003 total exports of tea to Russia stood at 4,460 tons, up by 30 per cent on the previous year. Evidently this level of growth has been sustained so far this year, with August tea exports to Russia setting a new ten year high of 714 tons, estimated to be worth €725,000.
This latest spurt of growth is said to be the result of a co-operative agreement signed this July between the VTA and the Russian Tea and Coffee Association. This meant that trade centres were set up representing both Vietnamese and Russian interests in the respective countries, providing information about the tea business, including production and market information.
The agreement also means that the Russian Tea and Coffee Association has pledged to help Vietnamese traders deal with barriers that may hinder tea exports. Traditional Russian trade channels are well guarded in many areas of the food and beverage industries, which means trying to create new opportunities can be a difficult challenge.
Besides assistance in trade matters the Russian association has also agreed to help Vietnamese tea businesses market and advertise their tea brands as well as setting up a distribution network on the Russian market.
Indicative of the importance of the Russian market to the Vietnamese tea business is the fact that a visit to the website of the country's leading tea exporter to Russia, Vietnam National Tea Corporation, shows that it is available in three languages: Vietnamese, English and Russian. But with 20 Vietnamese tea companies now exporting to Russia and export volumes constantly growing, this kind of business flexibility has become a necessity.
The Vietnam National Tea Corporation says that it now has a strategy to corner at least 10 per cent of the Russian tea market, and in an effort to meet that aim it has spent around $200,000 marketing its Oriental Dragon brand so far this year through its Russian subsidiary, Ba Dinh Tea Company. But if current market growth is sustainable such investments will be money well spent.