Tea Price Report
Price volatility is an ongoing concern, so Tea Biz publishes the weekly Tea Price Report. The report tracks average prices at major tea auctions and lists prices for specific types of specialty tea, drawing on many sources, including the China Tea Marketing Association, which provides a benchmark for the ten famous teas from the world’s largest tea exporting country. Listen free to the weekly summaries below and click China Price Watch for a full report analyzing trends with additional data sets and graphs. John Yanxu researches, and Dan Bolton writes the Weekly China Price Watch.
Caption: Photo of white tea drying in the sun in Fujian courtesy of the China Tea Marketing Association (CTMA).
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The Westlake Dragonwell tea harvest in Hangzhou is well underway, with optimal conditions for plucking. The same conditions hold true in Sichuan Province and Suzhou, Jiangsu, where pre-Qing Ming Biluochun is getting better prices than during the same period in 2021. China’s official first harvest date was Feb. 10 in the Sanjiang Dong region of north Guangxi Province. Temperatures were colder at the start of the harvest. The February average was -3.2°C which is 1.9°C below normal. Snow fell as late as mid-February in Fujian and parts of Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hunan but there was no damaging hard frost as buds had not set. Precipitation nationwide was 52.5 mm, 24.6% higher than the norm, with the heaviest rainfall reported in southwest China, western Jiangnan, and southerly South China. There were no extreme weather events.
China harvested 3.18 million metric tons in 2021, up from 2.97 million metric tons of tea harvested in 2020 and well ahead of pre-pandemic 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China’s Statistical Communiqué on 2021 National Economic and Social Development.
Click to see the complete China Tea Circulation Association’s February 2022 Report*March 18th, 2022
| Average Domestic Prices for Finished Tea in USD per 500 grams | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Westlake Dragonwell (西湖龙井) | Hangzhou, Zhejiang | $628.40 | $706.95 |
| Biluochun (Spiral Spring Green) (洞庭山碧螺春) | Suzhou, Jiangsu | $785.50 | $1,135.35 |
| Huangshan Maofeng (洞庭山碧螺春) | Huangshan, Anhui | N/A | N/A |
| Xinyang Maojian (信阳毛尖) | Xinigyang, Henan | N/A | N/A |
| Liu’an Guapian (六安瓜片) | Lu’an, Anhui | N/A | N/A |
| Taiping Houkui (太平猴魁) | Huangshan, Anhui | N/A | N/A |
| Meitan Cuiya (湄潭翠芽) | Zunyi, Guizhou | $141.38 | $235.63 |
| Wuyi Rock Tea (武夷岩茶) } Wuyishan, Fujian | N/A | N/A |
| Dafuo Dragonwell (大佛龙井) | Xinchang, Zhejiang | $86.41 | $102.12 |
| Wufeng Green (五峰绿茶) | Wufeng, Hubei | N/A | N/A |
N/A indicates insufficient quantities harvested to establish a reliable price range. |
Prices are reported by tea type in representative growing regions. Price calculations are local, reflecting domestic prices averaged from many farms to determine a range.* In general, the lower range describes teas available in quantity. The high range is influenced by scarcity, but many desirable, high-value teas are grown in large quantities in China. Averages are calculated in Yuan (RMB) and converted to USD. Export prices vary greatly from the domestic averages listed above. Source: China Tea Marketing Association | Special thanks to John Yanxu in Yunnan for translating. | Copyright 2022 Tea Biz Tea Price Report www.tea-biz.com
March 17th, 2021
| Average Domestic Prices for Finished Tea in USD per 500 grams | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Westlake Dragonwell (西湖龙井) | Hangzhou, Zhejiang | $615.20 | $692.10 |
| Biluochun (Spiral Spring Green) (洞庭山碧螺春) | Suzhou, Jiangsu | $461.40 | $1,353.44 |
| Huangshan Maofeng (洞庭山碧螺春) | Huangshan, Anhui | $92.28 | $246.00 |
| Xinyang Maojian (信阳毛尖) | Xinigyang, Henan | N/A | N/A |
| Liu’an Guapian (六安瓜片) | Lu’an, Anhui | N/A | N/A |
| Taiping Houkui (太平猴魁) | Huangshan, Anhui | N/A | N/A |
| Meitan Cuiya (湄潭翠芽) | Zunyi, Guizhou | $83.05 | $123.04 |
| Wuyi Rock Tea (武夷岩茶) } Wuyishan, Fujian | N/A | N/A |
| Dafuo Dragonwell (大佛龙井) | Xinchang, Zhejiang | $104.58 | $230.70 |
| Wufeng Green (五峰绿茶) | Wufeng, Hubei | $46.14 | $153.80 |
N/A indicates insufficient quantities harvested to establish a reliable price range. |
Prices are reported by tea type in representative growing regions. Price calculations are local, reflecting domestic prices averaged from many farms to determine a range.* In general, the lower range describes teas available in quantity. The high range is influenced by scarcity, but many desirable, high-value teas are grown in large quantities in China. Averages are calculated in Yuan (RMB) and converted to USD. Export prices vary greatly from the domestic averages listed above. Source: China Tea Marketing Association | Special thanks to Si Chen in Beijing for translating. | Copyright 2021 Tea Biz Tea Price Report www.tea-biz.com
*Weekly averages are a joint effort of the Shanxi Tea Society, Liaoning Tea Industry Association, Jiangsu Tea Association, Zhejiang Tea Industry Association, Anhui Tea Industry Association, Henan Tea Association, Henan Tea Chamber of Commerce Hubei Tea Association, Hunan Tea Industry Association, Guangdong Tea Industry Association, Guangxi Tea Industry Association, Hainan Tea Association, Chongqing Tea Chamber of Commerce, Sichuan Tea Circulation Association, Guizhou Green Tea Brand Development Promotion Association, Yunnan Tea Circulation Association, Shaanxi Tea Industry Association
Send comments and suggestions on how to improve this report to Dan Bolton (Dan.Bolton@TeaJourney.Pub)