June Tea Report: China Exports & US Imports

Data from China Tea Marketing Association (CTMA) and USDA FAS show the continued importance of Chinese green tea exports and imports.

CHINA EXPORTS

China customs statistics show about an 18% increase in volume over previous June exports. For the first half of 2020, total tea export volume was down around 1.7% compared to the same period in 2019. 

Export value increased 7.72%, with average price per kg rising 9.52% to $5.65/kg.

Green teas remain the bulk of China tea export volume, accounting for an estimated 84.4% of 2020 totals, and a 0.3% decrease compared to the first half of 2019. 

Black teas comprise 7.9% of total 2020 export volume thus far, and have seen a year-on-year decrease of 16.2%

Pu’er teas, while comprising  less than 1% of total exports in Jan-Jun 2020 exports, saw an increase in volume exports of 16.5%.

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US IMPORTS

US imports of tea volumes (HS code 0902) have declined from both worldwide and China when comparing January to June 2019 versus the same period in 2020. June volumes across the 2 years reveals a nearly 28% drop in volumes imported from China. This is largely due to the reduction in Chinese black teas being imported. At the same time, volumes of Chinese green teas increased by a little over 25% over the previous June. 

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