China, the World's Largest Tea Producer in 2024

According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), China is the country with the largest production of tea leaves in the world. Its production volume reached 16.26 million tons in 2024.

This figure refers to the production of fresh tea leaves harvested from tea plantations, and not yet fermented or processed into a specific type of tea.

Meanwhile, Indonesia ranks seventh globally, producing 658 thousand tons of tea leaves throughout 2024.

Here is a list of the top 15 countries with the largest tea leaf production globally in 2024:

1. China: 16.26 million tons
2. India: 6.16 million tons
3. Kenya: 2.69 million tons
4. Sri Lanka: 1.51 million tons
5. Turkey: 1.41 million tons
6. Vietnam: 1.15 million tons
7. Indonesia: 658 thousand tons
8. Bangladesh: 437.6 thousand tons
9. Uganda: 414.9 thousand tons
10. Argentina: 356.7 thousand tons
11. Japan: 319.3 thousand tons
12. Malawi: 247.6 thousand tons
13. Rwanda: 160.5 thousand tons
14. Nepal: 135.3 thousand tons
15. Tanzania: 128.7 thousand tons

Although China is the largest producer of tea leaves, it is not the main exporter.

The country that exported the most tea leaves in 2024 was Kenya, with a volume of 466.6 thousand tons.

China then ranked second with a tea leaf export volume of 374.1 thousand tons, followed by India with 249.9 thousand tons, and Sri Lanka with 242.4 thousand tons.