Understanding Tea

China’s Dominance in the Global Tea Trade: Export Trends, Import Markets, and Tariff Analysis

China, renowned for its rich tea heritage, continues to solidify its position as the largest exporter of tea worldwide.

Tea Imports Exports

Tea Exports from China

In 2021, China exported tea worth a staggering $1.97 billion, securing its position as the leading tea exporter globally. Among China’s vast array of export commodities, tea ranked as the 276th most exported product during the same year. The primary destinations for China’s tea exports included Hong Kong, accounting for $460 million, followed by Morocco at $214 million, Malaysia at $185 million, Vietnam at $107 million, and Ghana at $103 million.

Emerging Export Markets

China experienced notable growth in tea exports between 2020 and 2021, particularly in emerging markets. The fastest-growing export markets for China’s tea during this period were Hong Kong, witnessing a significant increase of $188 million, followed by Malaysia at $44 million and Ghana at $23.5 million. These figures exemplify China’s expanding presence and increasing demand for its tea in these emerging markets.

ContinentCountryTrade Value
AfricaAngola414,388
AfricaBurundi8,820
AfricaBenin14,211,864
AfricaBurkina Faso2,841,134
AfricaBotswana64,039
AfricaCote d’Ivoire12,294,910
AfricaCameroon10,551,486
AfricaDemocratic Republic of the Congo766
AfricaRepublic of the Congo784,372
AfricaComoros1,363
AfricaDjibouti28,467
AfricaAlgeria50,268,470
AfricaEgypt2,359,835
AfricaEthiopia37,659
AfricaGabon1,080,309
AfricaGhana103,309,909
AfricaGuinea13,165,180
AfricaGambia21,252,718
AfricaEquatorial Guinea53,560
AfricaKenya37,272
AfricaLiberia673,826
AfricaLibya16,563,375
AfricaMorocco214,320,160
AfricaMadagascar1,244
AfricaMali24,778,424
AfricaMozambique30,155
AfricaMauritania75,800,952
AfricaMauritius51,019
AfricaNamibia2,953
AfricaNiger16,165,201
AfricaNigeria2,275,673
AfricaRwanda10,352
AfricaSudan168,055
AfricaSenegal57,140,146
AfricaSierra Leone573,945
AfricaSao Tome and Principe1,546
AfricaEswatini2,776
AfricaSeychelles2,534
AfricaChad2,494,961
AfricaTogo55,212,238
AfricaTunisia3,365,879
AfricaTanzania70,000
AfricaSouth Africa2,763,809
AfricaZambia30,063
AfricaZimbabwe1,933
AsiaAfghanistan10,491,969
AsiaUnited Arab Emirates11,555,047
AsiaArmenia46,175
AsiaAzerbaijan225,430
AsiaBangladesh62,257
AsiaBrunei31,385
AsiaCyprus7,697
AsiaGeorgia47,941
AsiaHong Kong460,136,219
AsiaIndonesia1,431,883
AsiaIndia1,745,492
AsiaIran4,677,334
AsiaIraq83,000
AsiaIsrael411,648
AsiaJordan250,956
AsiaJapan54,241,761
AsiaKazakhstan10,153,285
AsiaKyrgyzstan5,987,769
AsiaCambodia202,471
AsiaSouth Korea5,908,371
AsiaKuwait67,865
AsiaLaos1,213,581
AsiaLebanon62,356
AsiaSri Lanka5,731,354
AsiaMacau1,216,493
AsiaMaldives32,652
AsiaBurma15,572,557
AsiaMongolia808,553
AsiaMalaysia185,108,306
AsiaNepal32,064
AsiaOman32,993
AsiaPakistan7,497,266
AsiaPhilippines700,205
AsiaNorth Korea867
AsiaQatar150,220
AsiaSaudi Arabia2,630,888
AsiaSingapore7,055,550
AsiaSyria257,338
AsiaThailand25,241,755
AsiaTajikistan10,252,737
AsiaTurkmenistan2,809,110
AsiaTurkey428,828
AsiaUzbekistan42,422,870
AsiaVietnam107,383,458
AsiaChinese Taipei3,592,001
AsiaYemen47,960
EuropeAustria160,411
EuropeBelgium9,800,328
EuropeBulgaria265,136
EuropeBosnia and Herzegovina140,538
EuropeBelarus145,303
EuropeSwitzerland2,257,613
EuropeCzechia1,211,533
EuropeGermany43,684,686
EuropeDenmark35,642
EuropeSpain6,456,408
EuropeEstonia21,609
EuropeFinland76,063
EuropeFrance19,186,794
EuropeUnited Kingdom10,655,686
EuropeGreece330,947
EuropeCroatia32,049
EuropeHungary92,500
EuropeIreland376,295
EuropeIceland45,979
EuropeItaly4,818,403
EuropeLithuania680,466
EuropeLuxembourg43,636
EuropeLatvia28,480
EuropeMoldova148,807
EuropeNorth Macedonia73,823
EuropeMalta20,706
EuropeMontenegro60,748
EuropeNetherlands10,219,108
EuropeNorway1,107,047
EuropePoland15,669,460
EuropePortugal96,334
EuropeRomania41,735
EuropeRussia50,966,493
EuropeSerbia173,740
EuropeSlovakia410,698
EuropeSlovenia100,229
EuropeSweden184,769
EuropeUkraine6,947,897
North AmericaAruba4,775
North AmericaBahamas5,370
North AmericaBelize7,381
North AmericaBermuda189
North AmericaBarbados16,610
North AmericaCanada12,175,604
North AmericaCosta Rica51,856
North AmericaCayman Islands284
North AmericaDominican Republic87,861
North AmericaGrenada634
North AmericaGuatemala8,578
North AmericaHonduras8,381
North AmericaJamaica2,063
North AmericaMexico1,692,889
North AmericaNicaragua812
North AmericaPanama473,053
North AmericaEl Salvador11,369
North AmericaTrinidad and Tobago27,765
North AmericaUnited States63,844,054
North AmericaSaint Vincent and the Grenadines315
OceaniaAustralia3,412,947
OceaniaFiji21,172
OceaniaNew Caledonia4,192
OceaniaNew Zealand401,594
OceaniaPapua New Guinea5,430
OceaniaSamoa2,603
South AmericaArgentina1,273,518
South AmericaBolivia94,802
South AmericaBrazil825,525
South AmericaChile2,778,756
South AmericaColombia285,309
South AmericaEcuador143,447
South AmericaPeru627,866
South AmericaSuriname14,176
South AmericaUruguay101,819
Table: Where Does China Export Its Tea (2021)

Tea Imports into China

Despite being the largest tea exporter, China also engages in tea imports to cater to diverse consumer demands. In 2021, China imported tea valued at $200 million, placing it as the 13th largest tea importer globally. Tea ranked as the 519th most imported product in China during the same year. China’s primary sources of tea imports included Sri Lanka at $64.2 million, Chinese Taipei at $32.3 million, the United Arab Emirates at $25 million, India at $17.1 million, and Vietnam at $14 million.

Emerging Import Markets

China’s tea imports experienced substantial growth between 2020 and 2021, reflecting changing consumer preferences and diversification of its tea sources. The fastest-growing import markets for tea in China during this period were the United Arab Emirates, witnessing an increase of $24.3 million, followed by Sri Lanka at $3.81 million and Rwanda at $3.1 million. These figures highlight China’s expanding tea trade relationships with these emerging import markets.

Tariff Analysis

In 2018, the average tariff for tea in China stood at 11.7%. Among the countries imposing the highest import tariffs on tea in China were Burkina Faso, applying a Most Favoured Nation duty rate treatment of 15%, followed by Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, all imposing the same Most Favoured Nation duty rate treatment of 15%. These tariff policies affect the cost dynamics and trade relationships in China’s tea industry.

ContinentCountryTrade Value
AfricaAngola360
AfricaBurundi4,565,111
AfricaBotswana17
AfricaEgypt9,786
AfricaGuinea87
AfricaKenya6,156,426
AfricaMorocco958,959
AfricaMozambique1,857,102
AfricaMauritius121,384
AfricaMalawi1,617,206
AfricaNiger87
AfricaRwanda3,500,206
AfricaSenegal85
AfricaTunisia21
AfricaTanzania76,555
AfricaUganda851,387
AfricaSouth Africa34,504
AsiaAfghanistan243
AsiaUnited Arab Emirates24,982,892
AsiaAzerbaijan11,232
AsiaBangladesh11,704
AsiaGeorgia3,145
AsiaHong Kong3,090,215
AsiaIndonesia4,138,158
AsiaIndia17,091,955
AsiaIran46,971
AsiaIsrael25
AsiaJapan1,130,995
AsiaKazakhstan539
AsiaSouth Korea282,781
AsiaLaos1,252,668
AsiaSri Lanka64,208,808
AsiaMacau26,559
AsiaBurma1,059,375
AsiaMongolia150
AsiaMalaysia342,252
AsiaNepal42,944
AsiaPakistan104,770
AsiaPhilippines27,757
AsiaSingapore1,917,194
AsiaSyria1,908
AsiaThailand2,863,621
AsiaTurkey59,170
AsiaUzbekistan7
AsiaVietnam14,048,418
AsiaChinese Taipei32,324,618
EuropeAustria69,514
EuropeBelgium81,936
EuropeBulgaria8,345
EuropeSwitzerland2,155
EuropeCzechia194
EuropeGermany948,466
EuropeDenmark360
EuropeSpain1,571
EuropeFinland60,665
EuropeFrance76,117
EuropeUnited Kingdom1,343,071
EuropeGreece52
EuropeCroatia385
EuropeHungary181
EuropeIreland663
EuropeIceland4
EuropeItaly96,630
EuropeLithuania1,358
EuropeNetherlands69,309
EuropePoland4,472,167
EuropePortugal43,980
EuropeRussia960,439
EuropeSweden117
EuropeUkraine31
North AmericaBelize2,052
North AmericaBarbados695
North AmericaCanada44,780
North AmericaMexico57
North AmericaUnited States1,105,951
OceaniaAustralia759,162
OceaniaNew Zealand560,652
OceaniaSamoa1,001
South AmericaArgentina840,108
South AmericaBrazil1,793
South AmericaChile113
South AmericaEcuador42
South AmericaPeru185
South AmericaParaguay18
Table: Where Does China Import Its Tea (2021)

Vietnam Tea: A Popular and Reliable Choice for China’s Imports

Vietnam tea has consistently been a popular and trustworthy choice for China, thanks to its premium quality and competitive pricing. In 2021, China imported tea from Vietnam with a total value of $14,048,418, marking a 3.5% increase compared to the previous year. Vietnam holds a significant position as an important supplier of tea to China, catering to its tea requirements effectively.

Conclusion

China’s tea trade dominance is undeniable, with substantial tea exports to numerous destinations across the globe. As the largest tea exporter, China continues to strengthen its position in emerging markets such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Ghana. Simultaneously, its tea imports from Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, and the United Arab Emirates demonstrate the nation’s willingness to explore diverse tea sources. Monitoring tariff policies and fostering trade relationships will be vital for sustaining China’s position in the global tea trade. As China’s tea industry evolves, embracing emerging markets and navigating tariff regulations will be key to capitalizing on new trade opportunities and ensuring the long-term growth and prosperity of this cherished industry.

Data: BACI

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