China's foreign trade volume of tea grows in 2024

An aerial drone photo shows a tea garden in Jiangkou County of Tongren, southwest China's Guizhou Province, April 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

GUIYANG, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland recorded a total volume of 428,100 tonnes for tea import and export in 2024, up 5.3 percent year on year, according to the Tea Industry Committee of China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation.

Wei You, secretary general of the committee, shared these figures while releasing an annual report on the mainland's tea trade at a tea industry conference held on Thursday in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

During 2024, the mainland's tea import volume reached 54,000 tonnes, an increase of 38.34 percent year on year, while its tea export volume totaled 374,100 tonnes, a rise of 1.79 percent year on year.

The report noted that black tea was the dominant import tea product, making up 77.63 percent of total tea imports. Green tea led exports, accounting for 86.57 percent of the mainland's total export volume last year.

Notably, tea exports to Belt and Road partner countries in 2024 had reached 322,300 tonnes -- up 2.22 percent year on year.