Destinations
Eight markets, three regulatory regimes
The ten largest destinations took 60.5% of China's tea export value in 2025. These eight are the ones where a Fujian origin book and a refined volume book both have a route in.
Where does Chinese tea actually go?
China exported 418,800 tonnes of tea in 2025, up 11.9%, worth USD 1.55 billion. The top ten destinations by value — Morocco, Senegal, Malaysia, Mauritania, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, the United States, Japan, Uzbekistan, Algeria — took 60.5% of that value. Green tea was 88.11% of export volume.
| Destination | Region | Rank by value, 2025 | Volume | Volume YoY | Value | Unit price | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | North Africa | #1 | 91,000 t | +13.4% | USD 280 m | USD 3,043.4 / t | 2025-01-01/2025-12-31 |
| Senegal | West Africa | #2 | 24,000 t | +61.4% | USD 98.4 m | USD 4,024.6 / t | 2025-01-01/2025-12-31 |
| Mauritania | West Africa | #4 | 20,116.7 t | +26.8% | USD 83.2 m | ≈ USD 4,136.9 / t | 2025-01-01/2025-12-31 |
| Ghana | West Africa | #5 | 18,074.8 t | -53.2% | USD 72.4 m | ≈ USD 4,004.9 / t | 2025-01-01/2025-12-31 |
| Russia | CIS | — | 15,900 t | -19.2% | — | — | 2025 year-to-date |
| Uzbekistan | Central Asia | #9 | 29,217.4 t | +17.3% | USD 61.5 m | ≈ USD 2,105.9 / t | 2025-01-01/2025-12-31 |
| United States | North America | #7 | 10,456.1 t | -11.8% | USD 66.4 m | ≈ USD 6,347.6 / t | 2025-01-01/2025-12-31 |
| Japan | East Asia | #8 | 11,192.4 t | +9.7% | USD 64.1 m | ≈ USD 5,725.4 / t | 2025-01-01/2025-12-31 |
Every volume is shown in tonnes. The Russia row comes from an industry series published in kilograms year-to-date, which the Period column marks; the other rows are full-year 2025 figures from the China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce. A unit price marked ≈ is value divided by volume, calculated on this site. Unit prices are the figures published per destination, not a recalculation. Volumes and values are published rounded, so dividing a published value by a published volume can differ from the published unit price by about 2%. Sources are stated on each market page and in the data report.
Routes we quote
ODM Tea quotes sea freight loading at Ningbo or Shanghai for Casablanca, Dakar, Nouakchott, Tema, the Russian ports, the United States and Japan; Uzbekistan is quoted by rail through the Khorgos–Altynkol corridor, which changes the packing brief and the transit plan. FOB, CFR and CIF are sea-freight rules, so a rail shipment is quoted under an Incoterms rule for any mode of transport, named in the quotation. Shipment history for a lane is confirmed in the quotation. The diagram shows routes, not distances.
What changes between them?
Three things: the grade the market actually drinks, the regulator whose residue limit the lot must clear, and how the goods physically arrive. Morocco, Senegal and Ghana are quoted as sea freight out of Ningbo or Shanghai. Uzbekistan is landlocked and is quoted by rail through the Khorgos–Altynkol corridor, which changes the packing brief.
Morocco
The single largest destination for Chinese tea — more than a fifth of China's tea export volume in 2025.
Senegal
Second by value among China's tea markets in 2025, volume up 61.4% — and USD 4,024.6 per tonne, 32.2% above Morocco.
Mauritania
100% of what Mauritania buys from China is green tea — the purest single-category market on the list.
Ghana
A re-export hub: tea landed at Tema moves on into Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Russia
Chinese tea volume into Russia fell 19.2% year-to-date in 2025, by an industry count, with green tea at 68% of the mix.
Uzbekistan
Second only to Morocco by volume among China's ten largest tea markets: 29,217.4 tonnes in 2025, up 17.3%.
United States
Seventh by value on about a ninth of Morocco's volume — grade, not tonnage, sets the price.
Japan
Among the strictest residue regimes of any major buyer, and with ASEAN a main destination for Fujian's tea exports.
Frequently asked
Which country imports the most Chinese tea?
Morocco. It took 91,000 tonnes in 2025, up 13.4%, worth USD 280 million, up 14.7%, at an average USD 3,043.4 per tonne. 99.85% of China's shipments to Morocco are green tea.
Which Chinese tea market is growing fastest?
Among China's ten largest tea markets by value, Côte d'Ivoire: volume up 300.4% in 2025 to 16,701.2 tonnes. Senegal was second at +61.4%, Mauritania third at +26.8% and Uzbekistan fourth at +17.3%. Ghana fell furthest, down 53.2%.
Which markets pay the most per tonne?
Among the ten largest, Malaysia by far — about USD 21,175.5 per tonne, value divided by volume — then the United States and Japan at about USD 6,347.6 and USD 5,725.4. Senegal paid USD 4,024.6 and Morocco USD 3,043.4, against a national export average of USD 3,691.2.
What regulatory regimes apply?
Morocco applies ONSSA maximum residue limits under Order 156-14. The Eurasian Economic Union — Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan — applies TR CU 021/2011 for food safety and TR CU 022/2011 for labelling, evidenced by a registered Declaration of Conformity and the EAC mark. Uzbekistan is an observer state, not a member, so those regulations do not follow the goods there; national requirements apply and are confirmed with the importer. The European Union checks 20% of tea consignments from China for pesticide residues under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/194.
Last updated: 26 September 2026
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