Global Market Report: Tea

The global tea market is growing, with retail value projected to reach USD 73 billion by 2024, driven by demand in Asia and the Pacific. While VSS-compliant tea grew significantly from 2.4% of the market in 2008 to 19.4% in 2016, the sector faces challenges including climate change, poor labour conditions, and a highly concentrated value chain. The report identifies significant opportunities to expand sustainable production in China, India, and Sri Lanka, as well as in LHDCs like Burundi and Uganda.

• The global tea market is experiencing growth, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4 to 5.5 per cent from 2017 to 2024, potentially reaching a retail value of USD 73 billion by 2024.
• Production and consumption are highly concentrated; in 2015, China, India, and Turkey consumed more tea than all other nations combined, and the top seven growing countries provided 90 per cent of the global supply.
• The tea supply chain is characterized by high vertical and horizontal integration, with approximately 85 per cent of tea sold by a few multinational companies and 20 per cent of the global market controlled by the three largest firms.
• Climate change is impacting tea yields through altered temperature and rainfall patterns, with estates reporting longer dry seasons and heavier rains that increase soil erosion and the need for irrigation, pesticides, and fertilizers.
• VSS-compliant tea production grew rapidly from 2.4 per cent of the market in 2008 to 19.4 per cent in 2016, with a CAGR of about 35 per cent during that period. In 2016, VSS-compliant tea was valued at USD 2 billion and totaled 1.15 million tonnes.
• There is significant potential to expand VSS-compliant production in China, India, and Sri Lanka, which together account for nearly 70 per cent of global production but only 26 per cent of VSS-compliant production.
• Low Human Development Countries (LHDCs) produced 12 per cent of the world's VSS-compliant tea in 2016 despite only producing 5 per cent of total tea. Burundi and Uganda are identified as having the most potential for growth based on production share, VSS presence, and HDI value.

APA

Voora, V., Bermúdez, S., & Larrea, C. (2019). Global Market Report: Tea. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ssi-global-market-report-tea.pdf

Chicago

Voora, Vivek, Steffany Bermúdez, and Cristina Larrea. Global Market Report: Tea. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ssi-global-market-report-tea.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Voora |first1=Vivek |last2=Bermúdez |first2=Steffany |last3=Larrea |first3=Cristina |title=Global Market Report: Tea |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ssi-global-market-report-tea.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{voora2019global, author = {Voora, Vivek and Bermúdez, Steffany and Larrea, Cristina}, title = {{Global Market Report: Tea}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ssi-global-market-report-tea.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }