2024 Global Market Report: Tea

The report highlights the economic vulnerability of the 13 million people in the global tea sector, particularly smallholder farmers in developing countries who produced 60% of the world's tea in 2022. While voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) cover at least a quarter of global production, their impact on farmer incomes is limited, often because 90% of VSS-compliant tea is sold as conventional. The document calls for new approaches to reward sustainable practices and ensure fairer production.

• Smallholder farmers in developing countries constitute over two thirds of the 13 million people employed in the global tea sector and were responsible for 60% of global tea production in 2022.
• The global tea industry is a major export earner for emerging and low-income economies, with annual production exceeding USD 17 billion and trade valued at USD 9.5 billion.
• Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) account for at least 25% of global tea production, but their effectiveness in improving farmer livelihoods is unclear, especially since an estimated 90% of VSS-compliant tea is sold as conventional tea.
• Smallholder farmers face significant financial risks, including volatile prices and extreme weather, and in some producing countries, total production costs can exceed their earnings, resulting in no profit.

APA

Luna,, S. B. V. L. (2024). 2024 Global Market Report: Tea. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/2024-global-market-report-tea

Chicago

Luna,, Steffany Bermúdez,Vivek Voora,Cristina Larrea,Erika. 2024 Global Market Report: Tea. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/2024-global-market-report-tea.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Luna, |first1=Steffany Bermúdez,Vivek Voora,Cristina Larrea,Erika |title=2024 Global Market Report: Tea |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=17 January 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/2024-global-market-report-tea |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{luna20242024, author = {Luna,, Steffany Bermúdez,Vivek Voora,Cristina Larrea,Erika}, title = {{2024 Global Market Report: Tea}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/2024-global-market-report-tea}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }