Factors Affecting Tea Prices for Farmers in Phongsaly District

Abstract

In this research, the objectives were to analyze: 1) the level of importance of factors affecting the tea price in Phongsaly District; and 2) the factors influencing the tea price of farmers in Phongsaly District. Regarding the level of importance of factors, tea quality was rated as the most important factor with a mean score of 3.72, followed by market demand (mean = 3.61) and climate and environmental factors (mean = 3.55). In contrast, production cost was considered the least important factor (mean = 2.76). The regression analysis revealed a multiple correlation coefficient (R) of 0.810, indicating a strong relationship between the set of independent variables and tea price. The coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.657 indicates that the seven independent variables jointly account for 65.7% of the variance in tea price. Furthermore, the F-statistic of 8.739 with a significance level of p < 0.001 (Sig. = 0.000) demonstrates that the model is a good fit and statistically significant as a whole.

However, the multiple regression analysis of all 7 factors showed that only three variables had a statistically significant effect on the tea price received by farmers in Phongsaly District: (1) climate and environmental factors (x4), which had the strongest positive influence; (2) production volume (x2), which had a positive influence; and (3) market demand (x5), which had a negative influence. The other factors production cost, tea quality, government policy, and market structure were not statistically significant, indicating that these factors do not affect the tea price received by farmers in Phongsaly District. The findings suggest that efforts should focus on strengthening environmental management and climate adaptation in tea-growing areas (e.g., irrigation systems and the protection of forests and water sources), while also supporting production techniques that increase yields and aligning production planning with market demand, in order to achieve sustainable improvements in the prices received by tea farmers in Phongsaly District.