Top 10 Tea Producing Countries in the World

Tea is one of the most popular drinks in the world, second only to water. Tea is consumed by a wide range of age groups in society. Tea is an important part of Asian culture, as a drink, a medicinal cure and a symbolic part of religious rituals. Tea plants are native to East Asia and possibly originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Burma. Tea was first discovered in China in 2737 BC. An early record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text written by Hua Tuo. It was first discovered by Chinese Emperor Shen Nung. Since then tea becomes an integral part of the identity, culture, and politics of the Asian continent. Since the 8th century tea has steadily spread along numerous trade routes through the Middle East and Himalayas into northern India. Then Portuguese merchants introduced tea to Europe during the 16th century. The first European country to import tea was the Netherlands.

Tea leaves comprise various health benefits including antioxidants, vitamins, trace minerals, and different amino acids. The benefits include a reduced risk of cancer, increased brain health and lower weight. Nowadays, Health-conscious consumers prefer drinking tea over other beverages such as coffee and soft drinks. The global tea market will be valued at over $20 billion by 2025. Tea is widely produced in Asia, Africa, and South America. Many countries are known for their unique tea flavours and high production rates of the beverage. Major types of tea, include black tea, green tea, herbal tea and instant tea. It is commercially produced in more than 60 countries. Most of those countries have been producing black tea. China is the largest tea-producing country and the largest exporter of tea in the world. India and China produce 50% of the total tea production in the world. China and Japan are two countries that mainly produce green tea. 

Argentina is an important tea-producing nation, the world's tenth-largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 70,000 metric tons. Although Argentina is responsible for the majority of the nation's tea production for export across the globe, only about 5 per cent of the production is consumed locally. Argentine black tea is ideal for blending.

Only a relatively small portion of Argentina is suitable for growing tea. The Argentine regions with the largest concentration of tea cultivation are the highlands of the Misiones and Corrientes provinces in northeastern Argentina. Argentina has 4,470 tea producers with 37,945 hectares under cultivation, 93% of which is in Misiones. James Finlays operates Argentina’s largest tea estate and five processing plants with an annual output of 27 million kilos.

Tea exports from Argentina total about 50 million kilograms annually. The US and Chile are the main destinations for Argentine exports, with 15% destined for Chile and 70% for the US. Other export destinations include Poland, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, India, and the Netherlands.
















Iran is the world's ninth-largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 84,000 metric tons. Most of the farms are located on the hillsides of Iran. Iran produces 90% of its tea in the far northern Gilan and Mazandaran Provinces. There are currently 28,000 hectares designated for growing tea, with 55,000 growers. There are up to 107 tea factories and a total of 32,000 hectares of tea farms. The major destination for exports is Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Canada, Australia, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Georgia.













Japan is the world's eighth-largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 89,000 metric tons. Although tea is grown throughout most of Japan. The three largest producing regions for Japanese tea are Shizuoka, Kagoshima and Mie. Shizuoka is the largest tea-producing region in Japan. Shizuoka Produce half amount of the total green tea production in Japan. Shizuoka is known for producing high-quality teas and having a wide variety of green teas. Around 40 per cent of Japan’s tea plantations are in Shizuoka. Kagoshima is known for mainly producing different types of Green tea, known for their sencha. It accounts for 20 per cent of Japan’s plantations. Gifu is the thirdly large tea-producing prefecture in Japan. The Islands of Kyushu, Miyazaki, Kumamoto and Fukuoka are the fourth, fifth and sixth largest tea producers.












Vietnam is the world's seventh-largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 117,000 metric tons. The tea cultivation area covers more than 130,000 hectares. There are 35 provinces and cities involved in the tea industry. Some large tea-growing provinces in Vietnam are Thai Nguyen (21,500 ha), Ha Giang (21,000 ha), Phu Tho (16,200 ha), Lam Dong (12,600 ha), and Tuyen Quang (8,500 ha) and Yen Bai (7,800 ha). Besides, there are several of Vietnam's notable tea-growing areas such as Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, Son La, Bac Kan, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh.

Jasmine tea, Aglaia tea and chrysanthemum tea are among the other flower varieties that can be found in certain regions of Vietnam. Vietnam currently ranks 5th in the world in tea exports. Vietnam's tea products are currently exported to 90 countries and territories. Export tea accounts for more than 80 per cent of total output. Vietnam’s annual tea export reaches 140,000 tonnes. Top destinations for exports are Russia, China, Taiwan, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey.













Indonesia is the world's sixth-largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 157,000 metric tons. Indonesia has a total tea plantation area of 121,034 hectares. Most of these plantations are owned by smallholders (50.96%), followed by state-owned plantations (25.80%) and private plantations (23.24%). West Java province has the most tea plantation areas with a total of 89,978 hectares or around 73% of total national tea planted areas and supplies around 70% of the country’s tea production. Other tea-producing regions in the country are Central Java and North Sumatra.

Indonesia contributed around 4% to the world’s tea export market which generated foreign exchange revenue of approximately 2 trillion IDR annually. Most of the tea that is exported is in the form of powder. Only around 6% is exported in the form of processed products. The country’s major export destination countries are Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Pakistan, followed by the United States, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, the Netherlands, and Poland.











Turkey is the world's fifth-largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 175,000 metric tons. Turkey is both a major consumer and producer of tea. Turkey produces 10% of the globe’s tea. Almost 70% of the total production is channelled into domestic. Turkey is a large exporter of tea, ranking fifth among the top exporting countries. Germany was the top importer of Turkish tea. The amount of tea exported for the year 2018 was valued at 5.7 million U.S. dollars.

Turkey produces primarily black tea, known as Turkish tea, and also as Rize tea. Turkey's tea fields are located in the very north of the country. The vast majority of Turkey’s tea leaves are grown along its Black Sea coastline, in the north of the country. The tea-growing territory stretches eastward, from the city of Rize, along the shoreline to the boundary with Georgia. Rize produces 60% of the country's total tea, followed by Trabzon and Artvin.










Sri Lanka is the world's fourth-largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 300,000 metric tons. Sri Lanka is an island made for tea. With 23% of the total world export, Sri Lanka ranked second in tea export earnings. Tea is Sri Lanka's top agricultural export and accounted for 10.9 per cent of total merchandise export revenue. Tea production is one of the main sources of foreign exchange for Sri Lanka, and accounts for 2% of GDP, contributing over US$1.3 billion to the economy of Sri Lanka.

It employs, directly or indirectly, over 1 million people. Tea planting by smallholders is the source of employment for thousands whilst it is also the main form of livelihood for tens of thousands of families. Around 4% of the country’s land area is covered in tea plantations amounting to nearly 203000 hectares.

Sri Lanka’s tea-growing areas are mainly concentrated in the central highlands and southern inland areas of the island. Sri Lanka’s tea-growing areas are also divided into seven main regions based mainly on the terroir, namely Nuwara Eliya, Uda Pussellawa, Uva, Dimbula, Kandy, Sabaragamuwa, and Ruhuna. Each area produces a uniquely flavoured Ceylon Tea, mainly due to the contrasting elevation, climate, and terrain in each region.












Kenya is the world's third-largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 305,000 metric tons. The country has more than 232,742 hectares of tea spread in 18 counties. The industry supports about 5.0 million people directly and indirectly while an estimated 650,000 tea growers depend on tea making the industry. The industry is the largest employer in the private sector, with more than 80,000 people in the sector. Most tea produced in Kenya is black tea, with green tea, yellow tea, and white tea produced.

Tea is mainly grown in several districts which include Kericho, Bomet, Nandi, Kiambu, Thika, Maragua, Muranga, Sotik, Kisii, Nyamira, Nyambene, Meru, Nyeri, Kerinyaga, Embu, Kakamega, Nakuru and Trans-nzoia. One of the major tea plantation regions in Kenya which are among the largest plantation in Africa is the Kericho tea plantation. Tea is a major cash crop that is grown in Kenya. Kenyan tea has been the leading major foreign exchange earner for the country. Kenya's tea sector generates about 26% of the total export earnings and about 4% of gross domestic product.














India is the world's second-largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 900,000 metric tons. India is one of the largest tea producers in the world, although over 70 per cent of its tea is consumed within India itself. India has around 566.66 thousand hectares of area under tea production. Tea production is led by Assam with 307.08 thousand hectares, West Bengal with 140.44 thousand hectares, Tamil Nadu with 69.62 thousand hectares and Kerala with 35.01 thousand hectares. India’s tea sector employs over 3.5 million people across some 1,686 estates and 157,504 smallholdings; most of them women. India stands fourth in terms of tea export after Kenya, China and Sri Lanka. Total tea export stood at US$ 826.47 million. The top export markets are Russian Federation, Iran and UAE.

The country is home to a wide variety of teas, including CTC tea, orthodox tea, green tea and organic tea. India offers high-quality speciality teas, which have a distinctive aroma, strength, colour and flavour. Tea found in India is categorized into 3 types namely Assam tea (highest cultivation), Darjeeling tea (Superior quality tea) and Nilgiri tea (subtle and gentle flavours).

The major tea-producing states in India are Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Sikkim, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Bihar, Orissa. The main tea-growing regions are in the Northeast and the Darjeeling district and the Dooars region. Tea is also grown on a large scale in the Nilgiris in south India. Tea production in West Bengal was approximately 25 million kilograms. Assam came second that year with close to 20 million kilograms.












China is the world's largest tea producer with an estimated annual production of 2,400,000 metric tons. The tea market in China is the largest in the world. There are 7 types of tea leaves in China: green tea, yellow tea, white tea, oolong tea, black tea, dark tea, and floral tea. The majority of the tea produced was green tea. China is not only the world’s largest tea producer but also the leading exporter, supplying the world with over 300 thousand metric tons of tea annually. The total area of tea plantations, located mostly around the Yangtze river and other southern regions, reached nearly three million hectares.