Insight
What is Fujian's position in Chinese tea exports?
Fujian ships two thirds of China's oolong tea exports and ranks first in China for scented tea exports. It ranks second for black tea and other semi-fermented tea, and third for green tea behind Zhejiang and Anhui. In the first half of 2025 Fujian exported 10,000 tonnes of tea, up 18%, worth CNY 630 million, up 7%, mainly to ASEAN and Japan.
The composition matters more than the tonnage. Fujian is not a bulk province competing on price per kilogram — it is the origin for four categories that are bought by name: white, oolong, black and jasmine. Green tea is the fifth line in the provincial book, 40.48% of provincial export volume in 2023, and it sells on specification rather than on origin name.
| Category | Volume | Share of volume | Value | Share of value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oolong | 13,500 t | 46.6% | USD 143 m | 46.76% |
| Green | 11,700 t | 40.48% | USD 103 m | 33.72% |
| Scented (jasmine) | 2,037.85 t | 7.05% | USD 17.79 m | 5.82% |
| Black | — | — | USD 28.05 m | 9.18% |
How does Fujian's price per tonne compare?
Fujian's 2023 oolong exports worked out near USD 10,600 per tonne — 13,500 tonnes for USD 143 million. China's all-tea export average in 2025 was USD 3,691.2 per tonne. Different products, and that is precisely the point: category choice moves realised price by a multiple, while negotiation moves it by percentage points.
Fujian's first-half 2025 book — 10,000 tonnes for CNY 630 million — sits in the same territory once converted, and it grew 18% by volume while China's national average unit price fell 2.7% across the year.
Which origins inside Fujian produce what?
Eight origins carry the province's export book. Fuding in Ningde and Zhenghe in Nanping produce white tea. Pinghe in Zhangzhou produces Bai Ya Qi Lan. Anxi in Quanzhou produces Tie Guan Yin. Wuyishan in Nanping produces rock oolong. Tongmu, inside Wuyishan, is where black tea was invented. Fu'an produces Tanyang Gongfu. Fuzhou is the reference origin for jasmine tea.
Fuzhou jasmine tea alone exports roughly 1,500 tonnes a year for about USD 13 million — an average near USD 8,700 per tonne on a scented green tea.
| Origin | Prefecture | Category | Teas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuding | Ningde | White | Bai Hao Yin Zhen, Bai Mu Dan, Shou Mei |
| Zhenghe | Nanping | White | Zhenghe Bai Mu Dan, Shou Mei |
| Pinghe | Zhangzhou | Oolong | Bai Ya Qi Lan |
| Anxi | Quanzhou | Oolong | Tie Guan Yin |
| Wuyishan | Nanping | Rock oolong | Da Hong Pao, Rou Gui, Shui Xian |
| Tongmu | Wuyishan | Black | Lapsang Souchong, Jin Jun Mei |
| Fu'an | Ningde | Black | Tanyang Gongfu |
| Fuzhou | Fuzhou | Scented | Jasmine green tea |
What is Fujian not?
Fujian is not a gunpowder or Chunmee origin. Those are Zhejiang and Anhui teas — gunpowder centred on the Pingshui belt around Shaoxing. Any exporter presenting gunpowder as Fujian-grown is describing a sourcing relationship as an origin claim, which is the most common misrepresentation in this trade.
ODM Tea sources gunpowder and Chunmee openly from Zhejiang and Anhui and refines them to the written contract specification. The origin is disclosed on every product page rather than blurred into the Fujian story.