Even though tea is traditionally known as a British drink, the ritual of drinking tea has been as much a part of German culture. The consumption of tea is fairly stable in Germany.
Black tea is the most popular tea in Germany & the market for green tea is developing in recent years. Germans have a taste for fruity wines, beers & strong coffees. But as per German Tea Association, East Frisia region in Germany has the highest per capita consumption in the world, which is estimated to be above 300 litres per year. This is higher than the per capita consumption in Kuwait & Ireland!
The sourcing of tea in Germany is majorly dependent on imports. Lets have a look at the tea trade analysis of Germany:
Germany is the 10th Largest importer of tea in the world. In 2018, Germany imported tea worth $ 236.9 Million ( Source: ITC Trade Data 2018).
India is the largest tea supplier to Germany. India supplied tea worth $65.09 Million to Germany in 2018. This was 27.5% of the total tea imported by Germany. Tea suppliers from India consider Germany as the key market for high quality teas. The demand for organic teas & green teas in Germany have contributed to tea export from India to Germany.
Tea export from India to Germany has seen a year on year growth of 6% in value from 2014 to 2018.
China is the 2nd largest tea supplier to Germany, supplying tea worth $50.43 Million in 2018 ( Source : ITC Trade data 2018). China fulfills 21.3% of Germany's total tea imports. China's tea supply to Germany has declined by 4% year on year in value for the period of 2014-18.
Sri Lanka is the 3rd largest supplier of tea to Germany, exporting tea worth $ 38.81 Million in 2018 (Source: ITC Trade data 2018) Sri Lanka fulfills 16.4% of Germany's total tea imports. Sri Lanka's tea supply to Germany has been constant for the period of 2014-18.
Japan, Malawi, Poland, Indonesia and United Kingdom are among the other tea suppliers to Germany, jointly contributing to around 16% of Germany's total tea imports.
Despite complete dependence on imports, Germany is the re-export hub and is the 6th Largest exporter of tea in the world. In 2018 Germany exported tea worth $256.5 Million.
France is the largest export market for German teas. France imported $47.11 Million worth tea from Germany which is 18.4% of Germany's total exports. Tea export from Germany to France has seen a YOY growth of 5% from 2014 to 2018 (Source: ITC Trade Data 2018)
Netherlands is the 2nd largest export market for German teas. Netherlands imported $25.56 mn worth tea from Germany which is 10% of Germany's total export. Tea export from Germany to Netherlands has seen a YOY growth of 2 % from 2014 to 2018 (Source: ITC Trade Data 2018)
USA is the 3rd largest export market for German teas. USA imported $ 20.05 Million worth tea from Germany which is 7.8 % of Germany's total export. Tea export from Germany to USA has been steady from 2014 to 2018 (Source: ITC Trade Data 2018)
UK, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Russia, Denmark, Sweden are some more export markets for the tea supplied from Germany. It is understood that in 2018, Germany had a trade surplus of $19.6 mn. Hence, we can conclude that Germany is a re-export hub for selling tea in Europe. Germany is a very established market for quality and value-added teas.
