Insight
What did China actually export in 2025?
China exported 418,800 tonnes of tea in 2025, up 11.9% year on year, for USD 1.55 billion, up 8.9%. The average unit price was USD 3,691.2 per tonne, down 2.7%. Volume grew faster than value, which is the arithmetic signature of a market clearing more tea at a lower price per kilogram.
Green tea carried the volume: 88.11% of export tonnage. China also imported 60,800 tonnes worth USD 180 million, up 12.6% and 17.2% respectively — a reminder that China is now a two-way tea market, not only a supplier.
The ten largest destinations by value — Morocco, Senegal, Malaysia, Mauritania, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, the United States, Japan, Uzbekistan and Algeria — together took 60.5% of export value in 2025.
| Measure | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Export volume | 418,800 t | +11.9% |
| Export value | USD 1.55 bn | +8.9% |
| Average unit price | USD 3,691.2 / t | −2.7% |
| Green tea share of volume | 88.11% | — |
| Import volume | 60,800 t | +12.6% |
| Import value | USD 180 m | +17.2% |
Is Morocco's price the right benchmark?
Only for the same product. Morocco bought 91,000 tonnes of Chinese tea in 2025, up 13.4%, worth USD 280 million, at an average USD 3,043.4 per tonne — 17.5% below China's national export average of USD 3,691.2. That average covers almost nothing but green tea, so it says little about the price of black, oolong or white tea, or of a different green grade.
99.85% of what Morocco buys from China is green tea, mostly gunpowder and Chunmee grades. Green tea was also the lowest-priced category in China's 2025 exports, at USD 3,368.2 per tonne against USD 5,258.0 for black tea, so category mix accounts for part of Morocco's lower average.
None of which makes Morocco a bad market. It makes Morocco a volume market that has to be run on cost discipline and residue compliance rather than on differentiation.
Where did the money actually go in 2025?
Mostly to Africa: six of China's ten largest tea markets by value are African. Senegal was second by value at USD 98.4 million, on 24,000 tonnes, up 61.4%, at USD 4,024.6 per tonne — 32.2% more than Morocco. Côte d'Ivoire grew fastest of the ten, with volume up 300.4% to 16,701.2 tonnes.
The West African markets sit close together on price. Value divided by volume puts Côte d'Ivoire at about USD 4,258.4 per tonne, Mauritania at about USD 4,136.9 and Ghana at about USD 4,004.9. Mauritania was fourth by value at USD 83.2 million and takes 100% green tea from China; Ghana was fifth at USD 72.4 million, with volume down 53.2%, and functions as a re-export hub into Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
The practical reading: North and West Africa are not one market at one price. A specification priced only against Casablanca is priced against the lowest average among China's African markets.
| Destination | Volume | Volume YoY | Value | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 91,393.2 t | +13.4% | USD 278.1 m | USD 3,043.4 / t |
| Senegal | 24,448.9 t | +61.4% | USD 98.4 m | USD 4,024.6 / t |
| Mauritania | 20,116.7 t | +26.8% | USD 83.2 m | ≈ USD 4,136.9 / t |
| Ghana | 18,074.8 t | −53.2% | USD 72.4 m | ≈ USD 4,004.9 / t |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 16,701.2 t | +300.4% | USD 71.1 m | ≈ USD 4,258.4 / t |
| Algeria | 15,297.5 t | +10.9% | USD 53.9 m | ≈ USD 3,521.1 / t |
What happened in Russia and Central Asia?
Russia and Uzbekistan moved in opposite directions. Chinese tea volume into Russia fell 19.2% year-to-date in 2025, from 19.7 million kg to 15.9 million kg, by an industry count. Uzbekistan went the other way: 29,217.4 tonnes for the full year, up 17.3% by volume and 15.4% by value — second only to Morocco by volume among China's ten largest tea markets, and ninth by value.
In that industry series, the mix of what Russia buys from China was 68% green tea, 14% black, 14% specialty — oolong and dark tea — and 4% jasmine.
Uzbekistan is doubly landlocked, so tea from China arrives overland — this site quotes it by rail through the Khorgos–Altynkol corridor — which changes packing specification, transit planning and moisture control relative to a sea shipment.
What should a buyer take from the 2025 numbers?
Three things. The average price fell 2.7% because the mix shifted towards green tea, the lowest-priced category, and black tea's average price fell 24.3%; green tea's own average rose 1.7%. Prices differ widely by destination — from about USD 2,105.9 per tonne for Uzbekistan to about USD 21,175.5 for Malaysia among the ten largest markets. And category matters: specialty teas averaged USD 6,981.9 per tonne against USD 3,368.2 for green tea.
Fujian's 2023 export mix makes the point numerically: oolong at 13,500 tonnes and USD 143 million works out near USD 10,600 per tonne, against a national all-tea average of USD 3,691.2 per tonne in 2025. Different products, obviously — that is the point.
If your programme is one specification into one market, 2025 says your margin is set by someone else's price list. If it spans a volume grade and an origin grade, it is not.