Vietnam's Tea Exports Fall as Pakistan Trade Drops by More Than 70 Percent
Vietnam shipped less tea abroad in the first five months of 2026 than a year earlier, as its shipments to Pakistan fell by more than 70 percent. But the average price it earned per tonne rose, as exporters pushed harder into Taiwan, the Philippines, and other markets paying more.
Vietnam's tea shipments totaled 43,200 tonnes worth $74.7 million from January through May 2026, down 7.1% in volume and 2.5% in value from a year earlier, the trade ministry and tea association said. The average price Vietnam earned per tonne rose to $1,730, up 4.9%.
Pakistan's pullback drives the decline. Vietnam sold Pakistan just 2,900 tonnes worth $5 million through April, according to customs data reported separately in late May by the newspaper Nong Nghiep va Moi Truong, down 71.3% in volume and 73.7% in value from a year earlier. Over the same four months, Vietnam's total exports fell a smaller 3.8% in volume to 34,400 tonnes, while total value rose 1.2% to $58.5 million and the average price climbed 5.1% to $1,704.20 a tonne.
Vietnamese exporters have offset the Pakistan decline by selling more into markets that pay better. In the five-month data, Taiwan became Vietnam's largest tea buyer, taking 4,800 tonnes worth $9.2 million, up 4.3% in volume and 17% in value. Shipments to the Philippines rose 84.2% in volume and 93.6% in value; to India, 12% in volume and 18.1% in value; to Russia, 13.2% in volume and 2.7% in value; and to the United States, 3.9% in volume and 14.5% in value. Exports to China, Vietnam's other major buyer, fell 9.8% in volume and 14.1% in value to 4,400 tonnes worth $6.8 million. In the four-month data, Taiwan paid Vietnam an average of $1,831.20 a tonne for its tea, up 10.6%, one of the higher unit prices among the markets the report broke out.
Vietnam is a minor producer next to the industry's giants, China and India. What sets its year apart is the response. Where Kenya's export levy has left tea piling up unsold in Mombasa, and Nepal spent weeks with its factories idled by an Indian testing rule, Vietnam answered the loss of one big buyer by shipping less and earning more per tonne from the markets that remain.
Sources: DTiNews, Vietnam tea exports shift toward US and Russian markets; Nong Nghiep va Moi Truong, Vietnam's four-month tea exports fall in volume but rise in value.