
Tea export volume from China 2021, by country or region
Chinese tea import value that year.
Tea market in China
China is the largest tea producer and exporter in the world. In 2021, tea output reached 3.18 million metric tons, coming mostly from the southern subtropical regions of the country. Green tea is by far the most consumed and exported variety of Chinese teas. Black tea, on the other hand, has traditionally been seen as a foreign beverage, even though it originates from China. China’s relatively recent black tea drinking habit has been strongly influenced by the British culture, boosting black tea imports and consumption.
Chinese tea export markets
In 2021, China exported around 369 thousand metric tons of tea worth nearly 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, at least a quarter of the global supply. The majority of it went to Northern and Western African countries, with Morocco at the forefront of the leading importers. In 2019, Morocco was chosen to open China’s first tea company in Africa, signaling China’s growing presence in the continent.
Uzbekistan, where tea is an integral part of a daily life, was the second largest Chinese tea customer in 2020, importing over 23 thousand metric tons of tea. More than half of all imported goods in Uzbekistan come from China, and tea is an essential import for the nation which has a deep-rooted tea drinking tradition.
In 2021, Morocco ranked first among the top Chinese tea importing countries, with an annual tea import volume of approximately 74,610 metric tons. However, it ranked third in terms of Tea market in China
China is the largest tea producer and exporter in the world. In 2021, tea output reached 3.18 million metric tons, coming mostly from the southern subtropical regions of the country. Green tea is by far the most consumed and exported variety of Chinese teas. Black tea, on the other hand, has traditionally been seen as a foreign beverage, even though it originates from China. China’s relatively recent black tea drinking habit has been strongly influenced by the British culture, boosting black tea imports and consumption.
Chinese tea export markets
In 2021, China exported around 369 thousand metric tons of tea worth nearly 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, at least a quarter of the global supply. The majority of it went to Northern and Western African countries, with Morocco at the forefront of the leading importers. In 2019, Morocco was chosen to open China’s first tea company in Africa, signaling China’s growing presence in the continent.
Uzbekistan, where tea is an integral part of a daily life, was the second largest Chinese tea customer in 2020, importing over 23 thousand metric tons of tea. More than half of all imported goods in Uzbekistan come from China, and tea is an essential import for the nation which has a deep-rooted tea drinking tradition.