China is the world’s largest tea producer, exporter, and consumer. In 2020, China produced 2.74 thousand metric tons of tea, accounting for roughly 45 percent of the global tea production. Approximately three-fifths of China’s tea production was green tea, a tea made from unoxidized leaves. On the other hand, tea plantation acreage in China has been consistently growing, with the most prolific tea-cultivation areas lying around and south of the Yangtze River valley in Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Hubei provinces.
When it comes to international trade, China exported more than two-billion U.S. dollars of tea annually, 700 million dollars more than Sri Lanka, which ranked second place. Green tea accounts for the largest proportion of China’s total tea exports. Though Hong Kong is China’s largest tea exporting destination in terms of trade value, the largest amount of tea exports from China went to Morocco, Uzbekistan, and some West African countries. When it comes to imports, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and India are China’s most crucial tea import partners, and black tea makes up the absolute majority of tea imported to China.
According to a Statista survey, around 95 percent of respondents said they were tea drinkers, and nearly one-third drink tea daily. Though most Chinese still prefer to enjoy tea at home, tea shops generated an increasing amount of profits in the past years due to the trend of freshly-brewed new-style beverages. The tea-based drinks infused with milk, fruits, and even cream cheese have recently won the hearts of many young Chinese consumers.
