Delegations from many tea importing countries will attend the Tea Festival hosted by the northern province of Thai Nguyen from November 26-28, said Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Ma Thi Nguyet at a press briefing on October 22 in Hanoi. Nguyet said representatives from China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Russia, and Turkey will join activities to be held across Thai Nguyen City and districts renowned for their tea brands, namely Tan Cuong, La Bang, Trai Cai, Diem Mac, and Phu Do district. Twenty five tea processing and export enterprises and 50 renowned tea villages in the province will bring their products to the festival. A Tea Master Cup competition will be held for the first time to select Vietnam’s representative at the international tea making competition in the Republic of Korea next year. A wide range of other activities including art performances, conferences on tea products, tours to tea-growing areas and a beauty contest are taking place during the three-day event. The Thai Nguyen Tea Festival has contributed significantly to the local socio-economic development, introducing local potential, culture and landscapes to domestic visitors and international friends, thus buoying the development of the tea sector and improving local residents’ living condition. Thai Nguyen tea products are popular in Vietnam. Currently, Thai Nguyen is ranked second in terms of tea output nationally, just behind Central Highlands Lam Dong province, with more than 20,700 hectares of tea producing some 192,000 tonnes of fresh buds annually. The province currently sells an average of 31,500 tonnes of tea to the domestic market every year, or 80 percent of its total yearly output of over 39,000 tonnes. Only 20-30 percent of Thai Nguyen tea has been exported to overseas markets.-VNA