Please Share your Email if you Wish to Receive the Golden Tips & Tales Newsletter from History of Ceylon Tea Website
Tea is a commodity that contributes significantly to global trade. Data on global trade estimate that in 2021, global tea trade amounted to approximately 7.23 billion dollars. China is the leading tea exporter, with 2.1 billion dollars worth of tea being exported last year, contributing to 29 per cent of the global tea exports.
Kenya came in second after exporting tea worth 1.2 billion dollars and contributing to 16 per cent of the tea trade, while Sri Lanka and India were third and fourth with tea exports of 732 million dollars (10 per cent) and 688 million dollars (9 per cent) respectively.
The bulk of China’s tea for exports is green tea. With 30 per cent of the global tea trade, Kenya is the leader in the export of bulk black tea, followed closely by Sri Lanka with a trading volume of 20 per cent and India taking a 15 per cent share of the global black tea trade.
Kenya’s main destinations for black tea are Pakistan, Egypt, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia, and Yemen in that order. Sri Lanka, on the hand, sells its bulk black tea to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Malaysia through China, Iran, UAE, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Azerbaijan while importers of India’s black tea are Iran, UAE, and Russia.
The competitiveness of Kenya’s tea industry is critical to the country’s economy, contributing to political, economic, and social stability by providing a livelihood for many rural dwellers, especially women, as well foreign exchange earnings.
Comments
(In keeping with the objectives of this website, all COMMENTS must be made in the spirit of contributing to the history of this estate, planter or person i.e. names, dates & anecdotes. Critical evaluations or adverse comments of any sort are not acceptable and will be deleted without notice – read full Comments Policy here)