Drought has been the main climatic theme in Yunnan's major Tea-producing areas in recent years, and thus the annual fluctuations in Spring Tea production and sales are often a topic of concern. In the spring season that just passed (January to April), the raw tea output of the tea industry in Pu'er City reached 18,100 tons, an increase of 3.56% over last year; the comprehensive output value was 6.528 billion yuan, an increase of 11.6%; the average unit price of dry raw tea was 76.93 yuan/kg, an increase of 5.7%. Although these continuously growing figures are not particularly impressive, they do show the sustained positive development trend of Pu'er City's tea industry. Compared to Lincang and Xishuangbanna, Pu'er lags slightly behind the former in terms of tea production and is less renowned than the latter for its famous tea-producing regions. Therefore, to “promote ‘the world's tea source' and polish the ‘Pu'er tea' brand,” it is necessary to find the right direction, take a different path, and develop a unique way forward for the tea industry in Pu'er.
The contours of this developmental path have become clear and are bursting with efficient and sustainable development momentum during this spring in Pu'er.
To understand the situation with this year's spring tea in the nine counties and one district of Pu'er, we need to start with an official document issued at the end of last year. In December 2023, six departments, including the Office of the Rural Work Leading Group of the Pu'er Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, jointly issued the “Three-Year Action Plan for High-Quality Development of the Pu'er City Tea Industry (2023-2025).” This plan proposes to lead with the comprehensive promotion of rural revitalization, promote “the world's tea source,” and enhance the reputation of “Pu'er tea.” It emphasizes the directions of industrialization, scale, standardization, and branding, and promotes the “Four Strategies” of target market expansion, the cultivation of leading enterprises and brands, organic tea garden construction, and the integration of tea tourism. These strategies aim to strengthen and expand the tea industry in Pu'er City, achieving high-quality development in the tea industry. For Pu'er, among the “Four Strategies,” organic tea garden construction is the most important. The primary development goal set by this three-year action plan for Pu'er City is to maintain the largest area of organically certified tea gardens in the country.
According to statistical figures, as of April this year, the area of organically certified tea gardens in Pu'er City reached 701,100 mu, with 334 companies obtaining organic tea certification from China, 438 certificates, and 775 certified products. Both the number of certified companies and certificates rank first in the country. Under clear policy guidance, all districts and counties in Pu'er City are vigorously promoting organic tea garden certification, with significant results. For example, in Ximeng County, the total tea land area is 53,413 mu, with 51,309 mu of tea gardens in operation, and 19,482 mu of green and organic certified tea land, accounting for 36.47% of the total tea garden area in Ximeng County. Jinggu County has a current tea area of 280,500 mu, including 36,300 mu of ancient tea gardens and 200,000 mu of Jinggu large White Tea. As of last year, the county had completed organic tea garden certification for 236,000 mu, ranking first in Pu'er City and second in Yunnan Province.
The construction of organic tea gardens follows strict standards. By setting organic tea garden construction as the primary goal of tea industry development, Pu'er City can effectively improve the quality of tea leaves, promote industrialization, scale, and standardization of tea production, and also raise tea prices, bringing tangible benefits to tea farmers. Through the development of organic tea gardens, the price of fresh leaves of terrace tea in Minle Town, Jinggu County, increased by 5-10 yuan/kg this spring tea season, while the price of organic tea increased by 20-30 yuan/kg, and the price of ancient tree tea increased by 100-200 yuan/kg. In particular, the local famous mountain ancient tea variety, Yanga large white tea, sold for up to 6,000 yuan/kg (dry tea). Overall, the unit price of organic tea in this year's spring tea in Pu'er is about 23% higher than that of ordinary dry tea.
The continuous expansion of organic tea garden areas and the noticeable increase in the unit price of spring tea have partly caused the phenomenon of the output value growth rate of Pu'er City's tea industry far outpacing the growth rate of production volume this year. As mentioned earlier, the raw tea output of Pu'er City in the spring increased by 3.56% compared to last year, but the comprehensive output value increased by 11.6%, with the output value growth rate being more than three times higher than the production volume growth rate. Furthermore, compared to neighboring Lincang, despite not having a production volume advantage, Pu'er has achieved a reversal in output value. Last year, the tea production in Lincang was 173,100 tons with a comprehensive output value of 35 billion yuan, whereas the tea production in Pu'er was 156,600 tons, yet the comprehensive output value reached 45 billion yuan. Behind the rapidly growing tea output value lies the continuously increasing added value of the tea industry and the expanding tea industry chain in Pu'er City.
Of course, achieving such efficient development in the tea industry requires much more than just organic tea garden construction. The development of ancient tree resources, the empowerment of modern technology, the creation of leading brands, and the promotion of local culture are all important reasons why the Pu'er region has achieved efficient returns in the tea industry in recent years.
The La'anzhai Ancient Tea Garden located in the mountains of La'anzhai Village, Simao Port Town, Simao District, is the only contiguous primitive ancient tea garden within Simao District, covering approximately 280 mu with over 4,000 surviving ancient tea trees. In the past, these ancient tea trees were mainly collected and sold individually by local villagers, with backward tea-making techniques and a lack of brand awareness, leading to fluctuating tea prices and no significant income for local villagers. At the end of last year, the Pu'er Supply and Marketing Group signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with the La'anzhai Tea Specialized Cooperative for 20 years, comprehensively developing the quality and brand of ancient tea in La'anzhai from picking and processing to production storage and sales promotion.
This spring tea season, the Pu'er Supply and Marketing Group sent multiple experts to La'anzhai to guide villagers in the spring tea harvest. By the end of April, the spring tea production in La'anzhai had reached over 200 kg. With the help of the Pu'er Supply and Marketing Group, the product forms were primarily small packages of square slices or round cakes, and sales promotions were carried out through online media, providing stable and reliable income for the villagers of La'anzhai.
In addition, although the Pu'er tea industry is dominated by Pu'er tea, the simultaneous layout of various tea categories, such as Black Tea in Simao and Menglian, Green Tea in Jiangcheng, Ning'er, and Ximeng, and large white tea in Jinggu, not only meets market demand but also avoids internal competition, achieving intensive, efficient, and cluster development. Jinggu County has carved out a niche in the white tea field thanks to its high-quality tea tree resources. In March this year, Jinggu County received the title of “China's Large Leaf White Tea County,”