Data from China Customs was recently published regarding China exports for October 2025. GATS data on US imports of tea was not available at time of publication due to reporting delays caused by the recent federal government shutdown.

 

 

China Tea Export Analysis Report

October 2025
Report Date: December 04, 2025

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Overall Performance: China’s tea exports for the first ten months of 2025 totaled 343.61 million KG, representing a 3.8% increase compared to the same period in 2024 (330.88 million KG).

Key Highlights:

• Pure green tea (绿茶) exports grew by 13.5%, reaching 301.71 million KG
• Total unfermented teas represent 89.8% of exports, totaling 308.46 million KG
• Black tea (红茶) exports decreased 51.1%, falling to 21.72 million KG 
• October 2025 showed -2.3% decline vs October 2024
• Morocco remains #1 destination with 78.71 million KG YTD (+20.4%)
• African markets dominate top 10, representing majority of exports
• Ghana continued sharp decline: -54.8% YTD
• Côte d’Ivoire explosive growth: +324.2% YTD

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1. YEAR-TO-DATE PERFORMANCE (JAN-OCT 2025)

1.1 Total Export Volume

2025 YTD (Jan-Oct)	2024 YTD (Jan-Oct)	Change
343,605,194 KG	330,876,413 KG	+12,728,781 KG (+3.8%)

1.2 Green Tea (绿茶) Volume

Note: Pure green tea only, excluding jasmine tea, flower tea, and white tea (reported separately below).

2025 YTD	2024 YTD	Change
301,713,836 KG	265,921,638 KG	+35,792,198 KG (+13.5%)

 

1.2.1 Other Unfermented Tea Categories

In addition to pure green tea, the following unfermented tea categories contributed to total exports:

• Jasmine Tea (茉莉花茶): 5,779,859 KG (+13.4% vs 2024 YTD)
• White Tea (白茶): 357,076 KG (+0.7% vs 2024 YTD)
• Other Flower Tea (其他花茶): 607,800 KG (-42.7% vs 2024 YTD)
• Total All Unfermented Teas: 308,458,571 KG (representing 89.8% of total exports)

 

1.3 Black Tea (红茶) Volume Volume

2025 YTD	2024 YTD	Change
21,724,914 KG	44,383,708 KG	-22,658,794 KG (-51.1%)

 

2. OCTOBER 2025 PERFORMANCE

 

2.1 Total Export Volume

October 2025	October 2024	Change
36,634,122 KG	37,505,895 KG	-871,773 KG (-2.3%)

 

2.2 Green Tea (绿茶) – October

Pure green tea only (excluding jasmine, flower, and white tea)

October 2025	October 2024	Change
32,098,774 KG	33,080,043 KG	-981,269 KG (-3.0%)

 

2.3 Black Tea (红茶) – October

October 2025	October 2024	Change
2,726,864 KG	2,641,366 KG	+85,498 KG (+3.2%)

 

3. TOP 10 DESTINATIONS – YTD

Rank	Country	2025 KG	2024 KG	Change %
1	摩洛哥 (Morocco)	78,711,450	65,369,431	+20.4%
2	乌兹别克斯坦 (Uzbekistan)	24,655,916	17,166,037	+43.6%
3	塞内加尔 (Senegal)	20,418,052	12,411,544	+64.5%
4	毛里塔尼亚 (Mauritania)	15,680,864	13,829,838	+13.4%
5	加纳 (Ghana)	15,079,246	33,360,202	-54.8%
6	俄罗斯 (Russia)	13,258,143	12,253,239	+8.2%
7	科特迪瓦 (Côte d’Ivoire)	13,016,779	3,068,280	+324.2%
8	阿尔及利亚 (Algeria)	12,422,686	10,176,179	+22.1%
9	乍得 (Chad)	9,707,354	4,465,793	+117.4%
10	日本 (Japan)	9,382,236	8,601,903	+9.1%

Key Insights:

• 8 of top 10 destinations are African countries, dominating China’s tea export landscape
• Côte d’Ivoire shows explosive growth (+324.2%)
• Senegal demonstrates strong growth trajectory (+64.5%)
• Ghana’s dramatic reversal: from growth star (2022-2024) to sharp decline (-54.8%)
• Uzbekistan recovery momentum (+43.6% after 2022-2024 decline)

 

4. TOP 10 DESTINATIONS – OCTOBER 2025

Rank	Country	2025 KG	2024 KG	Change %
1	摩洛哥 (Morocco)	10,140,583	9,722,794	+4.3%
2	乌兹别克斯坦 (Uzbekistan)	3,237,176	2,353,880	+37.5%
3	科特迪瓦 (Côte d’Ivoire)	2,331,064	917,380	+154.1%
4	毛里塔尼亚 (Mauritania)	1,790,342	2,111,531	-15.2%
5	塞内加尔 (Senegal)	1,652,076	1,367,471	+20.8%
6	阿尔及利亚 (Algeria)	1,311,421	1,587,062	-17.4%
7	美国 (USA)	1,282,442	948,162	+35.3%
8	德国 (Germany)	954,559	1,182,462	-19.3%
9	日本 (Japan)	922,415	758,545	+21.6%
10	乍得 (Chad)	916,486	591,263	+55.0%

October Highlights:

• Côte d’Ivoire maintained explosive growth momentum (+154.1%)
• USA demonstrated strong recovery (+35.3%), re-entering top 10
• Uzbekistan consistent strong performer (+37.5%)
• Mauritania, Algeria, and Germany showed October weakness

 

5. TEA TYPE ANALYSIS BY DESTINATION

5.1 YTD Top 10 Countries – Tea Type Breakdown

Country	Green Tea KG	Black Tea KG	Other Types KG
摩洛哥 (Morocco)	78,285,634	8,050	417,766
乌兹别克斯坦 (Uzbekistan)	24,472,186	164,160	19,570
塞内加尔 (Senegal)	20,161,295	0	256,757
毛里塔尼亚 (Mauritania)	15,680,864	0	0
加纳 (Ghana)	15,045,574	72	33,600
俄罗斯 (Russia)	8,984,175	1,914,936	2,359,032
科特迪瓦 (Côte d’Ivoire)	12,811,359	40,020	165,400
阿尔及利亚 (Algeria)	12,349,620	73,066	0
乍得 (Chad)	9,707,354	0	0
日本 (Japan)	1,004,996	255,813	8,121,427

 

5.2 October 2025 Top 10 – Tea Type Breakdown

Country	Green Tea KG	Black Tea KG	Other Types KG
摩洛哥 (Morocco)	10,074,343	0	66,240
乌兹别克斯坦 (Uzbekistan)	3,232,877	2,680	1,619
科特迪瓦 (Côte d’Ivoire)	2,298,664	0	32,400
毛里塔尼亚 (Mauritania)	1,790,342	0	0
塞内加尔 (Senegal)	1,598,996	0	53,080
阿尔及利亚 (Algeria)	1,311,421	0	0
美国 (USA)	587,916	577,965	116,561
德国 (Germany)	622,682	238,328	93,549
日本 (Japan)	239,802	11,449	671,164
乍得 (Chad)	916,486	0	0

Tea Type Preferences by Market:

• African markets: Overwhelmingly prefer pure green tea (95-100%), with minimal diversification
• Morocco: 99.5% green tea – largest single market 
• Russia: Diverse portfolio (68% green, 14% black, 18% specialty teas)
• Japan: Preference for specialty teas (73% oolong/dark, 27% green/black)
• USA: Balanced mix (46% green, 45% black, 9% other)
• Germany: Mixed portfolio (65% green, 25% black, 10% other)

6. THREE-YEAR TREND ANALYSIS

Total Export Volumes

• 2022: 375.19M KG (baseline)
• 2023: 367.54M KG (-2.0% vs 2022)
• 2024: 399.79M KG (+8.8% vs 2023)
• 2025 YTD: 343.61M KG (10 months)
• 2025 Annualized: 412.33M KG (+3.1% projected)

 

Green Tea (绿茶) Trend

Pure green tea only (excluding jasmine, flower, white)

• 2022: 313.84M KG (83.6% of total)
• 2023: 309.35M KG (-1.4%, 84.2% of total)
• 2024: 325.37M KG (+5.2%, 81.4% of total)
• 2025 YTD: 301.71M KG (87.8% of total)

 

Black Tea (红茶) Trend

• 2022: 33.24M KG (8.9% of total)
• 2023: 29.04M KG (-12.6%, 7.9% of total)
• 2024: 48.99M KG (+68.7%, 12.3% of total) ← Strong growth
• 2025 YTD: 21.72M KG (-55.7%, 6.3% of total) ← COLLAPSE

 

Key Trend Observations

1. Green tea dominance intensifying: Rising from 81.4% (2024) to 87.8% (2025 YTD)
2. Black tea dramatic reversal: After +68.7% growth in 2024, collapsed -55.7% in 2025
3. Unfermented teas historic high: 89.8% of total (green + jasmine + flower + white)
4. Specialty teas declining: Oolong (-25.7% YTD), Dark tea/Puerh also declining

7. KEY FINDINGS & INSIGHTS

7.1 DECLINES

1. GHANA MARKET DECREASE

• -54.8% YTD after being fastest grower (2022-2024: +57.6%)
• Lost 18.3 million KG, dropped from #2 to #5

 

2. OCTOBER NEGATIVE MOMENTUM

• First month with negative growth (-2.3%)
• Suggests Q4 challenges ahead, could impact full-year performance

 

7.2 GAINS

1. WEST AFRICAN EXPANSION

• Côte d’Ivoire: +324.2% YTD (3.1M → 13.0M KG) – Exceptional growth
• Chad: +117.4% YTD (4.5M → 9.7M KG)
• Senegal: +64.5% YTD (12.4M → 20.4M KG)

 

2. UZBEKISTAN RECOVERY

• +43.6% YTD after 2-year decline, back to #2 position

 

3. MOROCCO STABILITY

• Consistent #1 destination with +20.4% YTD growth
• 78.7M KG (22.9% of total exports), reliable and growing

 

4. DEVELOPED MARKETS REVIVAL

• USA: +35.3% in October, Japan: +21.6% in October

 

*This report was produced with the assistance of an AI agent. It was reviewed by Firsd Tea, but it is for informational purposes.