- Vietnamese green tea has no single market price. Grade, leaf style, region, harvest season and residue compliance each move the quote.
- Fannings and dust sit at the bottom of the price ladder, OP and single-origin Tan Cuong near the top, with organic adding a typical 25 to 40 percent premium.
- Quotes are only comparable when they share one spec, one Incoterm, one packing format and one residue panel.
Buyers often open a conversation with one question: what is the Vietnam green tea price per kilo? It is a fair question, but the honest answer is that there is no single number. Vietnam ships roughly 165,000 metric tons of green tea a year to more than 70 countries, and that volume spans everything from industrial dust for tea bags to hand-sorted single-origin leaf from Thai Nguyen. The price of any one lot depends on a handful of variables that you control through your specification.
This guide explains those variables, shows where each grade sits relative to the others and walks through how an FOB quote is built. It does not publish price-per-kg figures on purpose. Published figures go stale within a season and they encourage comparisons between lots that are not actually the same tea. What you can take from this page is a framework for reading quotes and a checklist for making them comparable.
Why a single price per kg misleads
Two suppliers can both quote “Vietnam green tea, OP grade” and be offering products that differ in cost by a wide margin. One lot may be spring flush leaf from a high-altitude garden, tested against the EU residue panel. The other may be a summer crop blend from several farms, bought through a trader and never tested. Only one will clear a German port without trouble.
The grade name tells you leaf size and shape. It does not tell you origin, season, residue status, moisture or packing. Each of those items shifts the cost of production, and each is a place where a low quote can hide a gap in the spec.
The main price drivers
Grade and leaf style
Leaf grade is the first filter. Whole, well-rolled leaf takes more plucking discipline, more sorting and more careful drying than broken grades. Fannings and dust are by-products of sorting and are priced accordingly. Leaf style also matters: steamed, needle-shaped sencha-style tea for the Japanese and Korean market needs different machinery and tighter process control than traditional pan-fired Sao Suot. See the green tea grades overview for how each grade is defined on this site.
Region and altitude
Where the tea grows affects yield, flavor and cost. Thai Nguyen gardens sit at roughly 200 to 600 m and produce the classic Vietnamese pan-fired profile. Lam Dong (Bao Loc and surrounding districts) at 800 to 1,500 m is the largest volume area and the main source of steamed and export bulk grades. The Northwest highlands (Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Son La, Ha Giang) at 1,200 to 2,000 m produce Shan Tuyet leaf from old trees, which is limited in volume and priced as a specialty product.
A note on names: Vietnam merged several provinces in mid 2025 (for example Yen Bai into Lao Cai, Ha Giang into Tuyen Quang and Bac Kan into Thai Nguyen). Tea trade still uses the traditional region names, and you will see them on offers and certificates of origin for some time. The regions page covers each area in more detail.
Harvest season
Spring flush leaf is the most sought after and the most expensive. Summer crops are larger in volume, with a stronger and sometimes more astringent cup, and they are the backbone of blending and tea bag grades. Autumn crops sit between the two. Prices for the same grade can move noticeably between spring and summer, so a quote given in March may not hold in July.
Certification and residue compliance
Organic green tea is limited in volume in Vietnam and typically carries a 25 to 40 percent premium over conventional tea of the same grade. The premium covers conversion costs, lower yields and certification fees (USDA Organic, EU Organic or JAS Organic). Even for conventional tea, compliance with a strict residue panel costs money: the supplier must control inputs at farm level, segregate compliant leaf and pay for laboratory testing. A lot that is tested against EU Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 limits will cost more than a lot that is not tested at all, and it should.
Volume, packing and payment terms
Bulk MOQ is usually 1 metric ton, packed in 25 to 50 kg foil-lined paper sacks. Full container loads (a 20 ft container holds roughly 18 metric tons of bulk tea) earn better unit pricing than mixed pallets. Retail packing, private-label printing and nitrogen flushing add cost. Payment terms matter too: a supplier asked to carry open account terms will price in the financing cost.
Relative price tiers by grade
The table below ranks the grades most often requested from Vietnam from lower to higher relative cost. It is a relative guide, not a price list. Within each tier, season, region and compliance can move a lot up or down by a full tier.
| Grade | Relative price tier | Typical use | What moves price within the grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fannings / Dust | Lowest | Industrial tea bags, extraction | Particle size consistency, dust content, residue status |
| BOP (broken) | Low to mid | Tea bags, food service | Cut consistency, color of liquor, moisture |
| Sao Suot (pan-fired) | Mid | Loose-leaf blends, retail | Season, twist quality, sorting, region |
| Sencha-style (steamed) | Mid to upper | RTD beverages, Japan and Korea blends | Color retention, steaming control, residue panel |
| Jasmine Green | Mid to upper | Flavored retail, gift | Number of scenting rounds, fresh flower versus flavoring, base leaf grade |
| OP (long whole leaf) | Upper | Premium loose leaf | Leaf length, uniformity, spring versus summer crop |
| Tan Cuong single origin | High | Specialty retail | Verified origin, spring flush, hand plucking |
| Organic (any grade) | Base grade plus 25 to 40 percent | Natural and health retail | Certification scheme, volume available, residue testing |
Two points stand out. Jasmine green tea price depends heavily on whether it is scented with real flowers over several rounds or sprayed with flavoring, and both are sold as “jasmine green tea”. Single-origin claims such as Tan Cuong only justify a premium if origin is verifiable through the supplier’s own gardens or documented cooperative sourcing.
Seasonality and timing
A practical buying calendar for Vietnamese green tea looks like this:
- Spring (roughly March to May): first flush, highest quality and highest prices. Premium buyers should book early and approve samples fast because the best lots sell first.
- Summer (roughly June to August): peak volume, strongest supply of BOP, fannings and blending grades. Good time for tea bag and RTD base tea contracts.
- Autumn (roughly September to November): moderate volume with a softer cup than summer. Useful for balancing blends.
- Winter: little or no plucking in most areas. Offers during this period come from stock, so check the production date.
Rainfall and temperature vary from year to year, and a dry spring in the north can tighten supply of premium Thai Nguyen leaf. Suppliers therefore hold quotes only briefly. Ask for the validity date in writing.
How an FOB price is built up
Most bulk green tea from Vietnam is quoted FOB Ho Chi Minh City (for Lam Dong tea) or FOB Hai Phong (for northern tea). Understanding the layers inside an FOB price helps you judge whether a quote is realistic. The Incoterms rules define where cost and risk pass from seller to buyer.
From leaf to EXW
The base cost is fresh leaf bought from the supplier’s own gardens or from contracted farmers. Processing (withering where used, fixing by pan-firing or steaming, rolling, drying, sorting and grading) removes most of the water in the leaf, so it takes several kilos of fresh leaf to make one kilo of finished tea and the leaf cost is multiplied before any other cost is added. Then come labor, energy, sorting losses, laboratory testing, packing materials and the supplier’s margin. That total is the EXW price at the factory gate.
From EXW to FOB
To reach FOB, the supplier adds inland trucking to port, export customs clearance, terminal handling at origin, phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin and any fumigation required by the destination. For northern tea shipped from Hai Phong, trucking distance is short. For Lam Dong tea shipped from Ho Chi Minh City, it is a longer road haul, which is part of the quote.
From FOB to landed cost
On your side of the FOB line are ocean freight (25 to 35 days transit from Ho Chi Minh City to US West Coast and EU main ports), cargo insurance, destination port charges, import duty, customs brokerage and inland delivery. Add third-party pre-shipment inspection with SGS, Bureau Veritas or Intertek (typically 350 to 600 USD per container) and any destination residue testing your importer requires. These costs are fixed per shipment rather than per kilo, which is why small first orders look expensive on a landed basis.
How Vietnam compares with other origins
Vietnamese green tea often lands 15 to 25 percent below equivalent Chinese grades. The gap is widest for bulk blending grades, BOP and fannings, where Vietnam competes directly on volume. It narrows for premium whole leaf and for lots that must pass a strict residue panel, because compliance costs are similar wherever the tea is grown. For a background on how the global market is structured, the FAO tea market overview is a useful reference. Our importer guide covers the wider sourcing picture.
Getting quotes you can actually compare
The single most useful thing a buyer can do is send the same written spec to every supplier. A comparable quote request states:
- Grade and leaf style (for example, pan-fired OP, or steamed needle sencha-style).
- Preferred region and crop season, or “no preference”.
- Moisture maximum and any other physical limits you test for.
- Residue panel: EU, US or Japan, and which laboratory report you will accept.
- Certification required, if any.
- Quantity per shipment and annual volume.
- Packing format and labeling.
- Incoterm and named port.
- Sample quantity (100 to 250 g is normal) and approval process.
With that in hand, differences between quotes reflect real differences in cost rather than differences in what each supplier assumed you wanted. You can submit this spec through the RFQ form and receive matched suppliers who have all seen the same requirements.
Price red flags
A few patterns deserve a second look before you commit:
- A quote far below the others for the same spec. It may be a trader blending across farms, a lot that has not been tested or old stock. Ask for the production date, the residue report and the business license.
- No residue report, or a report for a different lot. Ask that the report reference the lot number on the sacks.
- “Factory” pricing from a company with no processing facility. Traders are not a problem in themselves, but you should know who you are buying from. Ask for a video call from the processing line and have your inspector attend at the actual plant.
- Sample and shipment mismatch. Ask the supplier to seal a retention sample at the factory and have your inspector compare it with the loaded goods before the container is sealed.
Send a green tea spec
If you have a grade, a volume and a destination market in mind, send your green tea spec through the RFQ form. We review each request and match you with up to 3 suitable Vietnamese suppliers within 24 business hours. You then receive quotes and samples directly from them and negotiate on your own terms. The service is free for buyers, and an NDA can be signed before you share detailed specifications.
Frequently asked questions
Why will suppliers not give a price per kg without a spec?
Because the same grade name covers a wide range of leaf quality, moisture, residue status and packing. A price without a spec is a guess that usually changes once the sample is approved.
Is Vietnamese green tea cheaper than Chinese green tea?
Vietnamese green tea often lands 15 to 25 percent below equivalent Chinese grades. The gap narrows for premium single-origin lots and for tea that must clear strict EU or Japanese residue limits.
Which Incoterm should I ask for?
FOB Ho Chi Minh City or FOB Hai Phong is the most common basis for bulk green tea. It lets you compare suppliers on the same terms and book your own freight and insurance.
When is the best time to buy?
Spring flush lots carry the highest prices and sell first. Summer and autumn crops are more plentiful and easier to negotiate, which suits blending and tea bag grades.