Tea, coffee top earners for Phongsaly
Tea, coffee top earners for Phongsaly
Phongsaly province has reported earnings of 463.94 billion kip from its agricultural and forestry sector's production and supply in the last financial year, 2012-13.
“The 463.94 billion kip represented about a 5.72 percent increase from the previous fiscal year; it also covered about 43.41 percent of the province's GDP,” the provincial Planning and Investment Department reported.
Coffee and tea farms have covered a large percentage of the agricultural sector in the province and will continue to grow because an increasing number of farmers are growing crops.
The department said coffee and tea were the major agricultural export products in Phongsaly because it is located in a good area for plantations.
The province has 2,046 hectares of tea farms and 1,259 hectares of coffee.
Both products are major provincial exports, mainly to the Chinese market, though some are sold for domestic supply.
About 70 percent of the tea produced is exported and the remaining 30 percent consumed locally, while 90 percent of coffee is exported and 10 percent is supplied to the local market.
Currently the 2,046 hectares of tea farms have harvested about 2,940 tonnes of tea, which was about 98 percent of this year's plan.
The 1,259 hectares of coffee farms in the province is a significant increase on last year.
Tea plantation began in the province in 1999, according to the provincial Industry and Commerce Department.
The current 2,046 hectares of tea is planted across the districts of Phongsaly, Nhot-ou, Bounneua, Boutay, Samphan and Khua.
Phongsaly district now has 1,386 hectares of tea farm, with plans to expand to 1,552 hectares next year. Nhot-ou district has 338 hectares currently and plans to have about 343.7 hectares next year.
Tea is currently being sold for 5,000 to 120,000 kip per kilogramme.
The 1,259 hectares of coffee is spread across the districts of Phongsaly, Bounneua, Boutay, Nhot-ou, Samphan, Khua and May.
The province plans to expand coffee production too. It plans to add an additional 1,676.84 hectares of coffee soon, taking the total to 2,936 hectares.
Each hectare of farm can harvest about 12 to 16 tonnes of coffee. The lowest coffee price is now sitting at about 1,680 kip per kg.
vientiane times
