From late 17 century to early 20 century, an international trade road named “Miles Tea Ceremony” connected Asia and Europe after the Silk Road. Via China, Mongolia and Russia, it promoted the development of tea culture and tea trade.
Nowadays “The Belt and Road” paves a new “Miles Tea Ceremony” for Chinese tea. China works together with the countries along “The Belt and Road”, which provides new chances for China tea to go abroad.
Potential market
Tea has become part of people’s life. Therefore, many countries has a large consumption of tea.
Many of these countries can’t produce enough tea by themselves so they need to import tea from other countries. The volume of Chinese tea is huge and Chinese tea is popular in many countries and even accounts for a large proportion in their import volume.
Fierce competition
Apart from China, India, Sri Lanka and other countries try to dominate the tea market. Compared to 2013, around half of the 57 countries along “The Belt and Road” decreased the proportion of import volume of China in 2014.
Suggestions
Under the pressure of competition, China should adjust strategies. First, China should focus on providing black tea to the market abroad. In China, green tea is the main product but in the world, black tea is popular. Second, strengthen the cooperation with other countries to reduce trade barriers. Third, increase investment in the technology and improve the quality of Chinese tea.
Reference
《一带一路战略背景下我国茶叶市场开拓策略与建议》，陈富桥，姜仁华，姜爱芹，胡林英，陈磊，中国茶叶加工 2016（2）:5-15
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