Vietnam is currently the fifth largest tea supplier to the United States, with the North American country aiming to increase tea imports from the Vietnamese market and reduce tea imports from others.

The Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade quoted statistics from the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) as saying that US tea imports in 2022 stood at 121,500 tonnes, worth US$516.2 million, marking an increase of 4.8% in volume and 2% in value compared to 2021.

The average price of imported tea into the US last year stood at US$4,249.3 per tonne, representing an annual decrease of 2.6% year on year.

Argentina, China, and India made up the three main tea suppliers to the US market, accounting for 61% of the market’s tea imports.

The US moved to increase its tea imports from China and reduce the imports from Argentina and India, providing a chance to help Vietnam raise tea exports to this lucrative market.

Tea imports from China reached 14,900 tonnes in volume, up 22.2%, and US$64.4 million in value, up 17.9%, compared to 2021’s figures.

Vietnam emerged as the fifth largest tea supplier to the US in 2022, selling 6,400 tonnes for US$9.8 million, up 10.6% in volume and 18.4% in value year on year.

The proportion of the US’s tea imports from Vietnam accounted for 5.2% in 2022, rising by 0.2% year on year.

Black tea and green tea were the two main types of tea imported by the US.

VOV