Global sales of exported tea from all countries totaled US$7.55 billion in 2024, down by -7.4% since five years earlier in 2020 when worldwide tea exports were worth $8.15 billion.
Year over year, the value of worldwide tea exports shrank by an average -5.7% compared to $8 billion in 2023.
The 5 biggest exporters of tea are mainland China, Sri Lanka, Kenya, India and Poland. Collectively, that quintet of major tea exporters surpassed two-thirds (70.5%) of international tea sales.
From a continental perspective, Asian countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported tea during 2024 with shipments valued at $4.6 billion or 61.5% of the global total. In second place were exporters in Africa at 22% while another 13.6% of overall tea shipments originated from Europe.
Tinier percentages of globally exported tea came from suppliers in North America (1.8%), Latin America (1.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for tea is 0902.
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of tea during 2024.
- mainland China: US$1.42 billion (18.8% of total tea exports)
- Sri Lanka: $1.41 billion (18.7%)
- Kenya: $1.41 billion (18.7%)
- India: $816.9 million (10.8%)
- Poland: $265.2 million (3.5%)
- Japan: $242.6 million (3.2%)
- Germany: $235.1 million (3.1%)
- United Arab Emirates: $173.5 million (2.3%)
- United Kingdom: $137.5 million (1.8%)
- Vietnam: $113.7 million (1.5%)
- United States: $97.3 million (1.3%)
- Netherlands: $94.2 million (1.2%)
- Taiwan: $87 million (1.2%)
- France: $69.1 million (0.9%)
- Argentina: $63.4 million (0.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 87.9% of worldwide tea exports in 2024.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing tea exporters from 2023 to 2024 were: India (up 15.5%), Japan (up 15.1%), United Kingdom (up 14.1%) and Sri Lanka (up 10%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported tea sales were: United Arab Emirates (down -64%), Vietnam (down -37.4%), mainland China (down -18.4%), Taiwan (down -12.4%) and the United States of America (down -1.3%).
For a more detailed listing for 100 top tea exporters, see the section below.
The 100 top tea exporters in the automated database below accounted for 99.97% of international tea sales.
| Rank | Exporter | Tea Exports | 2023-4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | mainland China | $1,419,316,000 | -18.4% |
| 2. | Sri Lanka | $1,408,756,000 | +10% |
| 3. | Kenya | $1,408,552,000 | +4% |
| 4. | India | $816,853,000 | +15.5% |
| 5. | Poland | $265,158,000 | +5.6% |
| 6. | Japan | $242,557,000 | +15.1% |
| 7. | Germany | $235,065,000 | +1.2% |
| 8. | United Arab Emirates | $173,534,000 | -64% |
| 9. | United Kingdom | $137,548,000 | +14.1% |
| 10. | Vietnam | $113,745,000 | -37.4% |
| 11. | United States | $97,277,000 | -1.3% |
| 12. | Netherlands | $94,197,000 | +7.2% |
| 13. | Taiwan | $86,995,000 | -12.4% |
| 14. | France | $69,065,000 | +3.5% |
| 15. | Argentina | $63,447,000 | +8.5% |
| 16. | Malawi | $62,450,000 | -12.6% |
| 17. | Rwanda | $59,411,000 | +21.7% |
| 18. | Indonesia | $52,852,000 | -23.4% |
| 19. | Belgium | $46,910,000 | -12.1% |
| 20. | Jordan | $43,192,000 | +35.7% |
| 21. | Russia | $42,882,000 | -13.6% |
| 22. | Canada | $36,631,000 | +24.7% |
| 23. | Nepal | $33,271,000 | +30.1% |
| 24. | Singapore | $30,071,000 | -9.1% |
| 25. | Switzerland | $28,599,000 | +3.1% |
| 26. | Thailand | $27,829,000 | +52.3% |
| 27. | Türkiye | $27,055,000 | -1.3% |
| 28. | Kazakhstan | $26,856,000 | +9.3% |
| 29. | South Africa | $25,814,000 | +7.6% |
| 30. | Saudi Arabia | $25,190,000 | +140.3% |
| 31. | South Korea | $20,756,000 | +65.1% |
| 32. | Pakistan | $20,286,000 | +30.2% |
| 33. | Morocco | $19,668,000 | -48.9% |
| 34. | Tanzania | $19,422,000 | -37.6% |
| 35. | Hong Kong | $15,812,000 | -29% |
| 36. | Czech Republic | $15,708,000 | +25.8% |
| 37. | Burundi | $14,336,000 | -26.1% |
| 38. | Zimbabwe | $13,924,000 | -16.3% |
| 39. | Malaysia | $13,744,000 | +15.4% |
| 40. | Egypt | $13,649,000 | -16.9% |
| 41. | Yemen | $13,111,000 | +1.6% |
| 42. | Spain | $12,653,000 | -4% |
| 43. | Uganda | $12,178,000 | -85.2% |
| 44. | Denmark | $10,741,000 | +29.4% |
| 45. | Ireland | $10,691,000 | +20.8% |
| 46. | Iran | $9,891,000 | -60.6% |
| 47. | Italy | $8,975,000 | +14.7% |
| 48. | Austria | $8,575,000 | -27.6% |
| 49. | Sweden | $7,761,000 | -9.4% |
| 50. | Ukraine | $7,509,000 | +41.1% |
| 51. | Peru | $6,830,000 | -33.4% |
| 52. | Azerbaijan | $6,634,000 | +0.4% |
| 53. | Australia | $4,879,000 | +0.7% |
| 54. | Latvia | $4,638,000 | +3.2% |
| 55. | Mozambique | $3,219,000 | -34.7% |
| 56. | Lithuania | $2,884,000 | -17.5% |
| 57. | Portugal | $2,836,000 | +28.4% |
| 58. | Israel | $2,812,000 | +20.7% |
| 59. | Oman | $2,746,000 | -45% |
| 60. | Colombia | $2,488,000 | +16.1% |
| 61. | Bangladesh | $2,466,000 | -0.8% |
| 62. | New Zealand | $2,012,000 | +57.9% |
| 63. | Georgia | $1,938,000 | +14.5% |
| 64. | Myanmar | $1,762,000 | -44.9% |
| 65. | Ethiopia | $1,752,000 | -24.2% |
| 66. | Brazil | $1,683,000 | +0.8% |
| 67. | Estonia | $1,564,000 | +55.6% |
| 68. | Chile | $1,545,000 | -7.1% |
| 69. | Jamaica | $1,473,000 | -66.9% |
| 70. | Hungary | $1,447,000 | +33.2% |
| 71. | Greece | $1,417,000 | +18.5% |
| 72. | Costa Rica | $1,325,000 | +9.7% |
| 73. | Ecuador | $1,267,000 | +9.7% |
| 74. | Slovenia | $1,265,000 | +42.1% |
| 75. | Mexico | $1,227,000 | +163.3% |
| 76. | Nigeria | $1,134,000 | +3558% |
| 77. | Finland | $977,000 | -5.6% |
| 78. | Luxembourg | $840,000 | -4.4% |
| 79. | Croatia | $828,000 | +8.1% |
| 80. | Slovakia | $584,000 | -8.6% |
| 81. | Bulgaria | $565,000 | -7.1% |
| 82. | Uzbekistan | $557,000 | +32.9% |
| 83. | Romania | $542,000 | -26.3% |
| 84. | Togo | $524,000 | +64.3% |
| 85. | Macao | $520,000 | -22.8% |
| 86. | Armenia | $447,000 | -37.4% |
| 87. | Serbia | $446,000 | -19.9% |
| 88. | Mauritania | $406,000 | 0% |
| 89. | Lebanon | $384,000 | -83.6% |
| 90. | Papua New Guinea | $371,000 | -66.3% |
| 91. | Laos | $360,000 | -3.2% |
| 92. | Iraq | $325,000 | +139% |
| 93. | Mauritius | $317,000 | -28.3% |
| 94. | Philippines | $242,000 | +240.8% |
| 95. | Sudan | $241,000 | +4720% |
| 96. | Cayman Islands | $216,000 | 0% |
| 97. | Senegal | $209,000 | -63.2% |
| 98. | Syria | $204,000 | -28.4% |
| 99. | Ivory Coast | $193,000 | +9.7% |
| 100. | Montenegro | $177,000 | +1.7% |
Focusing on the 100 leading exporters, the fastest growing tea sellers on global markets from 2023 to 2024 were Sudan (up 4,720%), Nigeria (up 3,558%), Philippines (up 240.8%), Mexico (up 163.3%), Saudi Arabia (up 140.3%) and Iraq (up 139%).
You can change the presentation order in the database by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns. The right-most column highlights the percentage change in worldwide tea exports from 2023 to 2024.
Note that an entry of 0% in the far-right column means no value for 2023 was available.
Average Prices for Top Tea Export Countries
In 2024, the world average price for globally exported tea was an estimated US$3,783 per ton. That dollar metric reflects a flatlining 0.3% increase compared to an average $3,771 per ton five years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, the average global price of exported tea by ton depreciated by -5.1% from $3,986 for 2023.
Listed below are the average unit prices for the 15 countries that exported the greatest value in exported tea during 2024.
- Sri Lanka: $5,793 per ton (up 8.1%)
- Kenya: $2,252 per ton (down -7%)
- India: $3,268 per ton (up 4.8%)
- Poland: $12,680 per ton (down -0.5%)
- Japan: $27,300 per ton (down -0.4%)
- Germany: $11,515 per ton (down -3.2%)
- United Arab Emirates: $8,308 per ton (up 16.8%)
- United Kingdom: $9,521 per ton (up 2.7%)
- Vietnam: $1,538 per ton (down -58.8%)
- United States: $6,555 per ton (down -4.6%)
- Netherlands: $5,357 per ton (down -21.5%)
- Taiwan: $11,993 per ton (down -8.8%)
- France: $23,571 per ton (up 4.9%)
- Argentina: $1,130 per ton (down -4.2%)
The least costly tea is exported from Argentina, Vietnam, Kenya, India and mainland China. All of these top tea exporters charged significantly below than the global average of $3,783 per ton in 2024.
The most expensive tea per ton was shipped from Japan, France, Poland, Taiwan and Germany.
Countries Generating Greatest Surpluses Trading Tea
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for tea during 2024. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported tea and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Kenya: US$1.4 billion (net export surplus up 4.3% since 2023)
- Sri Lanka: $1.39 billion (up 9.5%)
- mainland China: $1.26 billion (down -20.8%)
- India: $736.8 million (up 11.5%)
- Poland: $118.3 million (down -15.6%)
- Japan: $81.3 million (up 59.2%)
- Vietnam: $66 million (down -58%)
- Malawi: $62.3 million (down -12.2%)
- Argentina: $60.4 million (up 7.4%)
- Rwanda: $59.4 million (up 22.2%)
- Nepal: $32.8 million (up 30.9%)
- Indonesia: $21.7 million (down -49.8%)
- Tanzania: $18.2 million (down -40.4%)
- Zimbabwe: $12 million (down -23.8%)
- Uganda: $11.5 million (down -85.9%)
Kenya, Sri Lanka and mainland China generated the highest surpluses in the international trade of tea. In turn, this positive cashflows confirm the competitors’ strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Causing Worst Deficits Trading Tea
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for tea during 2024. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported tea purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Pakistan: -US$614.1 million (net export deficit up 6.5% since 2023)
- United States: -$481.3 million (up 14.2%)
- Russia: -$308.1 million (down -7.5%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$277.4 million (up 12.9%)
- United Kingdom: -$239.5 million (up 26.2%)
- Iraq: -$239.1 million (down -15%)
- Morocco: -$232.4 million (up 56.1%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$198.5 million (reversing a $261.4 million surplus)
- Egypt: -$196.2 million (down -33.2%)
- Ghana: -$175.3 million (up 8628.1%)
- Iran: -$138.8 million (down -64.5%)
- Australia: -$117.2 million (up 17%)
- Canada: -$110 million (up 4.3%)
- Hong Kong: -$88.3 million (down -47.4%)
- Malaysia: -$86.7 million (up 11.4%)
Highly populous Pakistan incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of tea. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights the Asian country’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for tea-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand.
Global Tea Exporting Companies
Below are global tea-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international tea trade. Their home country is shown within parenthesis.
- Akbar Tea (Sri Lanka)
- Bigelow Tea Company (United States)
- Douwe Egberts aka Pickwick (Netherlands)
- George Steuart Group (Sri Lanka)
- Harada Tea Processing (Japan)
- Lancashire Tea (United Kingdom)
- Red Rose Tea (United States)
- Salada Tea (United States)
- Teekanne (Germany)
- Ten Fu Group (China)
- Tetley – Tata Global Beverages (India)
- Twinings (United Kingdom)
See also Tea Imports by Country, Hot Chocolate Exports by Country, Coffee Exports by Country and Coffee Imports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for Tea. Accessed on June 5, 2025
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 5, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 5, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 5, 2025