The overall value of tea imported by all buyer countries shrank by an average -2.1% since 2016 when tea purchases cost $6.8 billion. From 2019 to 2020, the total dollar amount for imported tea slipped by -5.5% from 2019 to 2020.
The 5 most valuable import markets for tea (Pakistan, United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia) accounted for almost a third (31.1%) of the worldwide sales of imported tea in 2020.
From a continental perspective, Asian countries bought the most imported tea during 2020 with purchases costing $2.9 billion or 43.7% of the worldwide total. In second place were European countries at 29.3% while 14.4% of all tea imports were delivered to customers in Africa.
Smaller percentages went to North America (9.1%), Oceania (2%) led by Australia and New Zealand, and Latin America (1.5%) excluding Mexico.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for tea is 0902.
Tea Imports by Country
Top 15
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of tea during 2020.
- Pakistan: US$589.8 million (8.9% of total imported tea)
- United States: $473.8 million (7.1%)
- Russia: $412.2 million (6.2%)
- United Kingdom: $348.7 million (5.2%)
- Saudi Arabia: $243.6 million (3.7%)
- Iran: $236.3 million (3.5%)
- Hong Kong: $221.8 million (3.3%)
- Morocco: $202.3 million (3%)
- Egypt: $197.2 million (3%)
- Germany: $195 million (2.9%)
- China: $180 million (2.7%)
- France: $168.1 million (2.5%)
- United Arab Emirates: $164.9 million (2.5%)
- Japan: $156.6 million (2.4%)
- Iraq: $134.7 million (2%)
Among the above countries, 4 markets for tea imports grew since 2019 namely: Hong Kong (up 19%), Pakistan (up 18.7%), Saudi Arabia (up 2.9%) and France (up 0.7%).
Those countries that posted declines in their imported tea purchases were led by: Iran (down -39.9%), Egypt (down -28.7%), Iraq (down -23%) and United Arab Emirates (down -21.7%).
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 58.9% of all tea imported in 2020.
Pakistan
Tea Imports into Pakistan
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Pakistan imported the highest dollar value worth of tea during 2020. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Kenya: US$497.3 million (up 26.6% from 2019)
- Rwanda: $29.4 million (down -16.3%)
- Vietnam: $17.6 million (up 10%)
- Uganda: $15.2 million (up 69.7%)
- Tanzania: $9.7 million (down -23.8%)
- Burundi: $9 million (down -21.8%)
- China: $4.3 million (down -13%)
- Indonesia: $3 million (up 32.6%)
- Bangladesh: $2.3 million (up 276.3%)
- Ethiopia: $702,000 (up 68.3%)
- Sri Lanka: $483,000 (up 38.8%)
- Iran: $474,000 (up 777.8%)
- South Africa: $231,000 (up 106.3%)
- Argentina: $105,000 (down -21.6%)
- Mozambique: $42,000 (up 320%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.99% of tea imported by Pakistan in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of tea to Pakistan since 2019 were: Iran (up 777.8%), Mozambique (up 320%), Bangladesh (up 276.3%) and South Africa (up 106.3%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their tea supplied to Pakistani importers included: Tanzania (down -23.8%), Burundi (down -21.8%), Argentina (down -21.6%) and Rwanda (down -16.3%).
Overall, the value of Pakistan’s imported tea accelerated by an average 18.7% from all supplying countries since 2019 when tea purchased cost $496.7 million.
USA
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 2020. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Japan: US$81.4 million (up 31.5% from 2019)
- India: $59 million (up 6.3%)
- China: $53.7 million (down -29.7%)
- Argentina: $53.6 million (down -13.9%)
- Sri Lanka: $41.6 million (down -15.4%)
- Canada: $37.4 million (up 3.6%)
- Poland: $19.9 million (up 17.4%)
- United Kingdom: $17.4 million (up 19.2%)
- Taiwan: $16 million (down -7.7%)
- Germany: $13.9 million (up 7.4%)
- Malawi: $11 million (down -36.4%)
- Indonesia: $8.4 million (down -30.4%)
- Vietnam: $7.3 million (down -2.7%)
- Kenya: $6.8 million (down -2.7%)
- United Arab Emirates: $6.4 million (up 57.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 91.5% of tea imported by the United States in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of tea to the US since 2019 were: United Arab Emirates (up 57.6%), Japan (up 31.5%), United Kingdom (up 19.2%) and Poland (up 17.4%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their tea supplied to American importers included: Malawi (down -36.4%), Indonesia (down -30.4%), China (down -29.7%) and Sri Lanka (down -15.4%).
Overall, the value of America’s imported tea fell by an average -3% from all supplying countries since 2019 when tea purchased cost $488.4 million.
Russia
Tea Imports into Russia
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Russia imported the highest dollar value worth of tea during 2020. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Sri Lanka: US$123.6 million (down -6.1% from 2019)
- India: $91.9 million (down -17.2%)
- Kenya: $53.8 million (up 14.1%)
- China: $39 million (down -3.6%)
- Vietnam: $24.9 million (up 0.6%)
- United Arab Emirates: $22.9 million (up 13.5%)
- Kazakhstan: $14.4 million (up 49.9%)
- Indonesia: $13.6 million (up 3.2%)
- Germany: $5.9 million (down -18.8%)
- Argentina: $3.5 million (up 12.6%)
- Tanzania: $3.3 million (up 66.4%)
- Zimbabwe: $2.8 million (up 79.8%)
- Poland: $1.8 million (up 17.6%)
- Azerbaijan: $1.5 million (down -40.8%)
- Rwanda: $1.3 million (down -4.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98% of tea imported by Russia in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of tea to Russia since 2019 were: Zimbabwe (up 79.8%), Tanzania (up 66.4%), Kazakhstan (up 49.9%) and Poland (up 17.6%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their tea supplied to Russian importers included: Azerbaijan (down -40.8%), Germany (down -18.8%), India (down -17.2%) and Sri Lanka (down -6.1%).
Overall, the value of Russia’s imported tea declined by an average -3.2% from all supplying countries since 2019 when tea purchased cost $425.7 million.
UK
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 2020. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Kenya: US$160 million (up 6.1% from 2019)
- India: $39.4 million (down -20.8%)
- Malawi: $30.7 million (up 24.4%)
- Poland: $18.6 million (down -18.7%)
- Rwanda: $16.5 million (up 93.9%)
- Switzerland: $12.1 million (up 23%)
- Sri Lanka: $11.7 million (down -19.8%)
- China: $11.5 million (up 0.6%)
- Tanzania: $6.4 million (down -24.8%)
- Germany: $6.2 million (down -43%)
- Netherlands: $3.9 million (down -9%)
- Ireland: $3.5 million (down -5.5%)
- Zimbabwe: $3.1 million (down -33.3%)
- Vietnam: $2.7 million (up 58.9%)
- South Africa: $2.6 million (down -24.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 94.4% of tea imported by the United Kingdom in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of tea to the UK since 2019 were: Rwanda (up 93.9%), Vietnam (up 58.9%), Malawi (up 24.4%) and Switzerland (up 23%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their tea supplied to UK importers included: Germany (down -43%), Zimbabwe (down -33.3%), South Africa (down -24.9%) and Tanzania (down -24.8%).
Overall, the value of the United Kingdom’s imported tea slowed by an average -2.1% from all supplying countries since 2019 when tea purchased cost $356.1 million.
Searchable List of Tea Importing Countries in 2020
Ranked in the database below, the 100 key import markets for tea accounted for 98.1% of the value of all tea imports during 2020.
| Rank | Importer | Tea Imports (US$) | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pakistan | $589,756,000 | +18.7% |
| 2. | United States | $473,832,000 | -3% |
| 3. | Russia | $412,245,000 | -3.2% |
| 4. | United Kingdom | $348,686,000 | -2.1% |
| 5. | Saudi Arabia | $243,557,000 | +2.9% |
| 6. | Iran | $236,308,000 | -39.9% |
| 7. | Hong Kong | $221,816,000 | +19% |
| 8. | Morocco | $202,304,000 | -12.8% |
| 9. | Egypt | $197,215,000 | -28.7% |
| 10. | Germany | $195,015,000 | -14.8% |
| 11. | China | $180,014,000 | -3.9% |
| 12. | France | $168,098,000 | +0.7% |
| 13. | United Arab Emirates | $164,903,000 | -21.7% |
| 14. | Japan | $156,638,000 | -12.9% |
| 15. | Iraq | $134,748,000 | -23% |
| 16. | Netherlands | $132,558,000 | +5.7% |
| 17. | Poland | $131,269,000 | +6.9% |
| 18. | Canada | $123,280,000 | -11.2% |
| 19. | Australia | $101,299,000 | -3.9% |
| 20. | Kazakhstan | $101,237,000 | -6.1% |
| 21. | Ghana | $93,242,000 | +3142% |
| 22. | Malaysia | $80,499,000 | -16.8% |
| 23. | Togo | $78,013,000 | 69.22 |
| 24. | Taiwan | $77,823,000 | -6.1% |
| 25. | Italy | $75,477,000 | -3% |
| 26. | Chile | $68,488,000 | +54.8% |
| 27. | India | $67,447,000 | +22.4% |
| 28. | Ukraine | $60,485,000 | +5.5% |
| 29. | Jordan | $59,097,000 | +27.5% |
| 30. | Azerbaijan | $56,187,000 | +2.1% |
| 31. | Syrian Arab Republic | $50,540,000 | -10.8% |
| 32. | Algeria | $49,592,000 | -7.6% |
| 33. | Ireland | $48,116,000 | -7.2% |
| 34. | Singapore | $47,382,000 | -6.6% |
| 35. | Spain | $46,640,000 | +11.9% |
| 36. | Yemen | $45,215,000 | -14.8% |
| 37. | Turkey | $44,366,000 | +8.6% |
| 38. | Uzbekistan | $42,235,000 | -9.1% |
| 39. | Libya | $41,958,000 | -34.8% |
| 40. | Afghanistan | $40,202,000 | -67.3% |
| 41. | South Africa | $39,896,000 | -0.9% |
| 42. | Switzerland | $38,957,000 | +6.3% |
| 43. | Belgium | $35,440,000 | -14.3% |
| 44. | Nigeria | $34,181,000 | +89.3% |
| 45. | Sweden | $33,795,000 | -4.7% |
| 46. | Belarus | $33,123,000 | -18.6% |
| 47. | Denmark | $31,535,000 | -5.9% |
| 48. | New Zealand | $26,480,000 | +9.1% |
| 49. | Czech Republic | $26,455,000 | -5% |
| 50. | Thailand | $26,122,000 | +17.3% |
| 51. | Indonesia | $25,857,000 | -28.2% |
| 52. | Qatar | $24,338,000 | -7.8% |
| 53. | Austria | $21,432,000 | -22.9% |
| 54. | South Korea | $21,220,000 | +5.9% |
| 55. | Mauritania | $20,293,000 | -1.4% |
| 56. | Mali | $20,126,000 | -47.5% |
| 57. | Kuwait | $19,691,000 | -69.8% |
| 58. | Lebanon | $19,518,000 | -17.8% |
| 59. | Ivory Coast | $18,049,000 | +100.6% |
| 60. | Cameroon | $16,997,000 | +30.9% |
| 61. | Vietnam | $16,790,000 | -45.7% |
| 62. | Norway | $16,384,000 | +2.2% |
| 63. | Guinea | $16,064,000 | +17.4% |
| 64. | Sri Lanka | $15,525,000 | -17.1% |
| 65. | Kenya | $14,907,000 | +27.5% |
| 66. | Finland | $12,419,000 | -15.8% |
| 67. | Kyrgyzstan | $12,088,000 | +8% |
| 68. | Oman | $11,631,000 | +28.4% |
| 69. | Tunisia | $11,493,000 | -10% |
| 70. | Lithuania | $10,963,000 | -13.1% |
| 71. | Latvia | $10,543,000 | +9.1% |
| 72. | Niger | $10,001,000 | -19.7% |
| 73. | Laos | $9,978,000 | +749.9% |
| 74. | Hungary | $9,683,000 | -6.4% |
| 75. | Israel | $9,555,000 | +13.3% |
| 76. | Macao | $8,571,000 | -5.5% |
| 77. | Philippines | $8,135,000 | -29% |
| 78. | Botswana | $7,680,000 | -3.7% |
| 79. | Tajikistan | $7,424,000 | +4.7% |
| 80. | Mexico | $7,394,000 | -30.6% |
| 81. | Moldova | $7,057,000 | -9.4% |
| 82. | Georgia | $6,745,000 | -15.9% |
| 83. | Greece | $6,522,000 | -22.6% |
| 84. | Somalia | $6,051,000 | -4% |
| 85. | Portugal | $5,930,000 | -14.7% |
| 86. | Estonia | $5,914,000 | +10.4% |
| 87. | Senegal | $4,925,000 | -24.4% |
| 88. | Romania | $4,739,000 | -10% |
| 89. | Mongolia | $4,092,000 | +5.5% |
| 90. | Namibia | $3,949,000 | -23.6% |
| 91. | Bahrain | $3,624,000 | -74.8% |
| 92. | Slovakia | $3,409,000 | -6.1% |
| 93. | Luxembourg | $3,260,000 | -5.5% |
| 94. | Mozambique | $3,204,000 | -22.9% |
| 95. | Bulgaria | $3,032,000 | -42.6% |
| 96. | Fiji | $3,022,000 | -20.3% |
| 97. | Chad | $2,968,000 | +86.1% |
| 98. | Brazil | $2,808,000 | -5.7% |
| 99. | Peru | $2,784,000 | +27% |
| 100. | Armenia | $2,602,000 | +2.4% |
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 2019 data was available.
The fastest-growing import markets for tea from 2019 to 2020 are Togo (up 6,922%), Ghana (up 3,142%), Laos (up 749.9%), Ivory Coast (up 100.6%) and Nigeria (up 89.3%).
See also Tea Exports by Country, Coffee Exports by Country, Coffee Imports by Country and Wine Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on July 8, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 8, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 8, 2021
