Tea export volume from China 2023, by country or region

In 2023, Morocco remained China's largest tea export destination, with an annual tea import volume of approximately 59,830 metric tons. Around 16 percent of China's tea exports that year were shipped to Morocco.

Tea market in China

China is the largest tea producer and exporter in the world. In 2023, tea output reached 3.54 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 2023, China exported around 367.5 thousand metric tons of tea, worth nearly 1.74 billion U.S. dollars. 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 third-largest Chinese tea customer in 2023, importing over 27 thousand metric tons of tea.