2022 Spring Crop Summary

Reports from CTMA have revealed an overall beneficial season and the potential for good yields from some of the better known tea growing areas.

JAN-FEB WEATHER LED TO A GOOD START

Early reports began by revealing warming temps in January along with fewer cloudy days for Sichuan, Guizhou, and other provinces, followed by a drop in temps for the area extending from Guangdong to Zhejiang. The mild warming followed by a falling temps and light snowfall associated with these weather patterns were beneficial to promoting flushing while also suppressing pest activity. In most areas the temperature drops were not largely associated with frost damage. Additionally, the above average precipitation produced a net positive effect.

As a result, harvesting began as early as the first ten days of February for parts of Guangxi, Guizhou, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Jiangsu.

HARVEST CONDITIONS AS OF 30 MARCH 2022

More recent reports have come in to provide further updates from some of the better known tea producing areas as of 30 March 2022.

Longjing (Dragonwell) growing areas in Hangzhou and Xinchang County of Zhejiang Province report average to above average weather conditions for harvest, and labor conditions ranging from adequate to somewhat insufficient (5-20% of fields lacking necessary manpower for harvest). Huangshan and Liuan in Anhui Province report similar conditions as those in Zhejiang Province. Labor supply may somewhat impact harvests of huangshan maofeng and taiping houkui.

Zunyi City in northern Guizhou Province reports average weather conditions, but labor conditions preventing 20-50% of crops from being efficiently harvested. Guizhou province has been one of the top 5 tea producing provinces in the past few years.

Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province reports above average weather conditions and sufficient labor for efficient harvests.

Depending on the type of tea and the shipping method (air freight vs ocean) 2022 Spring teas often arrive in the US between April and June.