GLOBAL MARKET REPORT

The report examines the global tea market, highlighting the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to price volatility and climate change. It assesses the impact of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, noting that while they can provide price floors and premiums, a significant amount of certified tea is still sold as conventional. The document argues for a shift toward more transparent pricing, direct trade, and sustainable land management to ensure living incomes for producers.

• Smallholder farmers are central to global tea production, with 9 million of the 13 million people employed in the sector being smallholders in developing countries, who produced 60% of the world's tea in 2022.
• Climate change is projected to significantly reduce tea yields by 2050, with expected decreases of 25% in Kenya, 14% in Sri Lanka, and 5% in China.
• Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) have seen growth, with VSS-compliant tea representing 24% to 30% of total global production in 2021, though the growth rate slowed between 2014 and 2019.
• A major systemic issue is that a large volume of VSS-compliant tea is sold as conventional tea, meaning farmers do not receive the associated premiums; for example, Fairtrade-certified smallholder organizations sold only 7% of their production on Fairtrade terms in 2020.
• The tea value chain is characterized by an inequitable distribution of value, where the most profitable stages—blending and packaging—occur in importing and consuming countries, while the primary production risks are borne by farmers in producing countries.
• International tea prices are highly volatile and influenced by public auctions in Kolkata, Mombasa, and Colombo; prices hit an all-time low (below USD 2/kg) in 2020 due to oversupply and pandemic-related demand drops.
• VSSs like Fairtrade provide price floors and premiums that can protect farmers; in Kenya (2020–2022), Fairtrade-associated producers may have received prices 15% higher for conventional and 23% higher for organic tea compared to auction averages.
• The pandemic accelerated the transition to mechanization in tea harvesting, with approximately 70% of global tea bushes now harvested by machines or mechanical aids, compared to only 5% in 1980.

APA

Bermúdez, S., Voora, V., Larrea, C., & Luna, E. (2024). GLOBAL MARKET REPORT. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-01/2024-global-market-report-tea.pdf

Chicago

Bermúdez, Steffany, Vivek Voora, Cristina Larrea, and Erika Luna. GLOBAL MARKET REPORT. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-01/2024-global-market-report-tea.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bermúdez |first1=Steffany |last2=Voora |first2=Vivek |last3=Larrea |first3=Cristina |last4=Luna |first4=Erika |title=GLOBAL MARKET REPORT |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=January 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-01/2024-global-market-report-tea.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bermdez2024global, author = {Bermúdez, Steffany and Voora, Vivek and Larrea, Cristina and Luna, Erika}, title = {{GLOBAL MARKET REPORT}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-01/2024-global-market-report-tea.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }