Year over year, the total dollar cost of imported tea decreased by -4.1% from $6.9 billion during 2020.
In 2021, the 5 most valuable import markets for tea are Pakistan, United States of America, Russia, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. Combined, those importers accounted for about a third (32.3%) of the worldwide sales of imported tea.
From a continental perspective, Asian countries bought the most imported tea during 2021 with purchases costing $2.7 billion or 40.8% of the worldwide total. In second place were European countries at 31.2% while 14.2% of all tea imports were delivered to customers in Africa.
Smaller percentages went to North America (10.3%), Oceania (2%) led by Australia and New Zealand, then Latin America (1.5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for tea is 0902.
Tea Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of tea during 2021.
- Pakistan: US$596.5 million (9% of total imported tea)
- United States: $531.8 million (8.1%)
- Russia: $436.2 million (6.6%)
- United Kingdom: $307.4 million (4.7%)
- Hong Kong: $262.1 million (4%)
- Germany: $244.8 million (3.7%)
- Egypt: $221.1 million (3.4%)
- Morocco: $207.4 million (3.1%)
- Vietnam: $192.2 million (2.9%)
- Saudi Arabia: $188.9 million (2.9%)
- France: $175.5 million (2.7%)
- Japan: $174.1 million (2.6%)
- China: $167.5 million (2.5%)
- United Arab Emirates: $156.2 million (2.4%)
- Canada: $141.6 million (2.1%)
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for tea since 2020 were: Vietnam (up 1,049%), Germany (up 22.3%), Hong Kong (up 18.2%) and Canada (up 14.9%).
Four top importers posted declines in their imported tea purchases were led by: Saudi Arabia (down -22.5%), United Arab Emirates (down -19.7%), United Kingdom (down -12.1%) and mainland China (down -7%).
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 60.7% of all tea imported in 2021.
Tea Imports into Pakistan
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Pakistan imported the highest dollar value worth of tea during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Kenya: US$497.8 million (down -0.03% from 2020)
- Rwanda: $34.4 million (up 16.9%)
- Vietnam: $21.7 million (up 23%)
- Uganda: $15.1 million (down -0.4%)
- Burundi: $9.8 million (up 9.5%)
- Tanzania: $7 million (down -28%)
- China: $5.3 million (up 23.8%)
- Indonesia: $2.4 million (down -20.8%)
- Ethiopia: $852,000 (up 21.2%)
- Bangladesh: $609,000 (down -73.7%)
- Malawi: $544,000 (2020 data unavailable)
- Iran: $331,000 (down -30.3%)
- Sri Lanka: $330,000 (down -31.8%)
- Argentina: $184,000 (up 75.2%)
- Madagascar: $41,000 (2020 data unavailable)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.99% of tea imported by Pakistan in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of tea to Pakistan since 2020 were: Argentina (up 75.2%), mainland China (up 23.8%), Vietnam (up 23%) and Ethiopia (up 21.2%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their tea supplied to Pakistani importers included: Bangladesh (down -73.7%), Sri Lanka (down -31.8%), Iran (down -30.3%) and Tanzania (down -28%).
Overall, the value of Pakistan’s imported tea flatlined via an average 1% gain from all supplying countries since 2020 when tea purchased cost $590.6 million.
Tea Imports into the United States
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the United States imported the highest dollar value worth of tea during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Japan: US$94.1 million (up 15.7% from 2020)
- India: $71.7 million (up 21.6%)
- Argentina: $61.4 million (up 14.4%)
- China: $60.4 million (up 13.7%)
- Sri Lanka: $47.5 million (up 14.4%)
- Taiwan: $26.4 million (up 64.5%)
- Canada: $23.7 million (down -36.8%)
- United Kingdom: $18.6 million (up 7.1%)
- Poland: $16.7 million (down -15.9%)
- Germany: $16.6 million (up 20.1%)
- Malawi: $15.7 million (up 42.5%)
- Vietnam: $9.6 million (up 32.2%)
- Indonesia: $8.8 million (up 4.5%)
- Kenya: $7.8 million (up 13.4%)
- United Arab Emirates: $7.6 million (up 19.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 91.5% of tea imported by United States in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of tea to the United States of America since 2020 were: Taiwan (up 64.5%), Malawi (up 42.5%), Vietnam (up 32.2%) and India (up 21.6%).
A pair of top providers experienced declines in the value of their tea supplied to American importers namely Canada (down -36.8%) and Poland (down -15.9%).
Overall, the value of America’s imported tea increased by an average 12.3% from all supplying countries since 2020 when tea purchased cost $473.7 million.
Tea Imports into Russia
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Russia imported the highest dollar value worth of tea during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Sri Lanka: US$111.9 million (down -9.5% from 2020)
- India: $95.3 million (up 3.7%)
- Kenya: $68.6 million (up 27.7%)
- China: $48.6 million (up 24.6%)
- United Arab Emirates: $26.4 million (up 15.2%)
- Vietnam: $22.1 million (down -11%)
- Kazakhstan: $16.4 million (up 13.9%)
- Indonesia: $14.4 million (up 6%)
- Germany: $6.7 million (up 13.6%)
- Argentina: $4.1 million (up 17.4%)
- Tanzania: $4 million (up 20.8%)
- Zimbabwe: $2.7 million (down -4.8%)
- Poland: $2.6 million (up 39.4%)
- Belarus: $1.67 million (up 151.5%)
- Rwanda: $1.66 million (up 27.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.9% of tea imported by Russia in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of tea to Russia since 2020 were: Belarus (up 151.5%), Poland (up 39.4%), Kenya (up 27.7%) and Rwanda (up 27.3%).
A trio of major providers experienced declines in the value of their tea supplied to Russian importers namely Vietnam (down -11%), Sri Lanka (down -9.5%) and Zimbabwe (down -4.8%).
Overall, the value of Russia’s imported tea went up by an average 5.8% from all supplying countries since 2020 when tea purchased cost $412.2 million.
Tea Imports into the United Kingdom
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the United Kingdom imported the highest dollar value worth of tea during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2020 to 2021.
- Kenya: US$128.8 million (down -19.6% from 2020)
- India: $44.4 million (up 12.6%)
- Switzerland: $17.1 million (up 40.8%)
- Malawi: $16.5 million (down -46.4%)
- Poland: $14.8 million (down -21%)
- Rwanda: $12.6 million (down -23.6%)
- China: $11.3 million (down -1.7%)
- Sri Lanka: $10.3 million (down -11.9%)
- Tanzania: $8.6 million (up 34.3%)
- Germany: $7 million (up 4.8%)
- South Africa: $4.4 million (up 70.7%)
- Ireland: $3.8 million (up 4.7%)
- Netherlands: $3.5 million (down -13.7%)
- Japan: $2.7 million (up 7.7%)
- United States of America: $2.1 million (down -6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 93.7% of tea imported by Britain in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of tea to the United Kingdom since 2020 were: South Africa (up 70.7%), Switzerland (up 40.8%), Tanzania (up 34.3%) and India (up 12.6%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their tea supplied to UK importers included: Malawi (down -46.4%), Rwanda (down -23.6%), Poland (down -21%) and Kenya (down -19.6%).
Overall, the value of United Kingdom’s imported tea advanced by an average 12.1% from all supplying countries since 2020 when tea purchased cost $349.8 million.
Searchable List of Tea Importing Countries in 2021
Ranked in the database below, the 100 key import markets for tea accounted for 98.7% of the value of globally imported tea during 2021.
| Rank | Importer | Tea Imports (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pakistan | $596,482,000 | +1% |
| 2. | United States | $531,758,000 | +12.3% |
| 3. | Russia | $436,239,000 | +5.8% |
| 4. | United Kingdom | $307,439,000 | -12.1% |
| 5. | Hong Kong | $262,139,000 | +18.2% |
| 6. | Germany | $244,847,000 | +22.3% |
| 7. | Egypt | $221,129,000 | +12.1% |
| 8. | Morocco | $207,444,000 | +2.5% |
| 9. | Vietnam | $192,210,000 | +1045% |
| 10. | Saudi Arabia | $188,861,000 | -22.5% |
| 11. | France | $175,520,000 | +4% |
| 12. | Japan | $174,066,000 | +11.1% |
| 13. | China | $167,456,000 | -7% |
| 14. | United Arab Emirates | $156,209,000 | -19.7% |
| 15. | Canada | $141,620,000 | +14.9% |
| 16. | Netherlands | $133,448,000 | -1.1% |
| 17. | Poland | $124,556,000 | -5.1% |
| 18. | Iran | $121,674,000 | -63.1% |
| 19. | Australia | $108,552,000 | +7.2% |
| 20. | Ghana | $102,711,000 | +9.2% |
| 21. | Malaysia | $88,821,000 | +10.3% |
| 22. | Taiwan | $88,082,000 | +13.2% |
| 23. | Italy | $85,536,000 | +7.9% |
| 24. | Belgium | $82,787,000 | +20% |
| 25. | Kazakhstan | $81,731,000 | -19.3% |
| 26. | Chile | $62,851,000 | -8.2% |
| 27. | Azerbaijan | $61,858,000 | +10.1% |
| 28. | India | $59,406,000 | -11.9% |
| 29. | Ukraine | $56,528,000 | -6.5% |
| 30. | Spain | $51,790,000 | +11% |
| 31. | Algeria | $47,467,000 | -4.4% |
| 32. | Belarus | $44,589,000 | -0.4% |
| 33. | Singapore | $44,084,000 | -7% |
| 34. | Yemen | $42,891,000 | -10.7% |
| 35. | Uzbekistan | $42,840,000 | +1.4% |
| 36. | Ireland | $42,617,000 | -11.4% |
| 37. | Turkey | $41,531,000 | -6.4% |
| 38. | Switzerland | $40,279,000 | +3.4% |
| 39. | South Africa | $37,563,000 | -5.8% |
| 40. | Sudan | $36,104,000 | -4% |
| 41. | Sweden | $32,027,000 | -4.9% |
| 42. | Czech Republic | $28,955,000 | +9.5% |
| 43. | Mali | $27,930,000 | +38.1% |
| 44. | Afghanistan | $26,605,000 | -38.6% |
| 45. | Austria | $25,532,000 | +19.1% |
| 46. | South Korea | $24,894,000 | +17.3% |
| 47. | Denmark | $24,887,000 | -27.3% |
| 48. | Democr. Rep. Congo | $24,368,000 | +1601% |
| 49. | Mauritania | $24,290,000 | +19.7% |
| 50. | Nigeria | $23,722,000 | -30.6% |
| 51. | Indonesia | $23,019,000 | -11% |
| 52. | Thailand | $22,853,000 | -12.5% |
| 53. | Iraq | $21,658,000 | -86.7% |
| 54. | Gambia | $21,444,000 | +1065% |
| 55. | New Zealand | $20,631,000 | -22.1% |
| 56. | Niger | $20,262,000 | +102.6% |
| 57. | Norway | $18,765,000 | +14.5% |
| 58. | Ivory Coast | $17,909,000 | +112.2% |
| 59. | Myanmar | $16,951,000 | +1191% |
| 60. | Libya | $15,427,000 | -63.4% |
| 61. | Sri Lanka | $14,883,000 | -4.1% |
| 62. | Guinea | $14,443,000 | -13.6% |
| 63. | Kenya | $14,208,000 | -4.7% |
| 64. | Tunisia | $13,685,000 | +4.9% |
| 65. | Jordan | $13,377,000 | -77.4% |
| 66. | Qatar | $13,296,000 | -45.4% |
| 67. | Kyrgyzstan | $12,784,000 | +5.8% |
| 68. | Macao | $12,177,000 | +42.1% |
| 69. | Finland | $11,857,000 | -4.5% |
| 70. | Lithuania | $11,257,000 | +2.5% |
| 71. | Latvia | $11,200,000 | +6.5% |
| 72. | Philippines | $11,026,000 | +35.5% |
| 73. | Hungary | $10,490,000 | +7.6% |
| 74. | Cameroon | $10,272,000 | -39.6% |
| 75. | Israel | $9,955,000 | +4.1% |
| 76. | Mexico | $8,770,000 | +1.3% |
| 77. | Moldova | $7,357,000 | +4.3% |
| 78. | Greece | $6,933,000 | +6.3% |
| 79. | Portugal | $6,808,000 | +19% |
| 80. | Tajikistan | $6,580,000 | -11.4% |
| 81. | Georgia | $6,363,000 | -5.7% |
| 82. | Estonia | $6,323,000 | +7.2% |
| 83. | Senegal | $6,201,000 | +25.9% |
| 84. | Botswana | $6,132,000 | -20.2% |
| 85. | Kuwait | $6,030,000 | -90% |
| 86. | Oman | $5,792,000 | -83.1% |
| 87. | Somalia | $5,618,000 | -12.4% |
| 88. | Romania | $5,004,000 | +6.4% |
| 89. | Peru | $4,556,000 | +63.6% |
| 90. | Turkmenistan | $4,179,000 | -17.8% |
| 91. | Namibia | $3,941,000 | -0.2% |
| 92. | Mongolia | $3,794,000 | +0.6% |
| 93. | Mozambique | $3,778,000 | +17.9% |
| 94. | Slovakia | $3,726,000 | +10% |
| 95. | Chad | $3,630,000 | +22.3% |
| 96. | Luxembourg | $3,540,000 | +6.7% |
| 97. | Bulgaria | $3,518,000 | +17.2% |
| 98. | Lebanon | $3,325,000 | -83% |
| 99. | Fiji | $3,202,000 | -5.6% |
| 100. | Angola | $3,145,000 | +105.4% |
The fastest-growing import markets for tea from 2020 to 2021 are the Democratic Republic of the Congo (up 1,601%), Myanmar also called Burma (up 1,191%), Gambia (up 1,065%) and Vietnam (up 1,045%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns above. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2020 data was available.
See also Tea Exports by Country, Coffee Exports by Country, Coffee Imports by Country, Hot Chocolate Exports by Country and Wine Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on July 4, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 4, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 4, 2022
