Turkish tea exports exceeded 25 million dollars in 9 months

According to the compilation made by the AA correspondent from the data of the Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association (DKİB), Turkish tea, which is the only tea in the world that has snow on it, was sold to 119 countries, autonomous and free zones in the January-September 2026 period.

In this context, 3 thousand 360 tons of tea were exported in 9 months of the year and a profit of 25 million 21 thousand 548 dollars was achieved. The United Kingdom, Belgium and the USA were the countries that exported the most tea.

In the January-September period, tea sales from Türkiye amounted to 6 million 366 thousand 50 dollars to the United Kingdom, 5 million 989 thousand 977 dollars to Belgium, and 1 million 804 thousand 526 dollars to the USA.

1,820 tons of tea were exported from Rize to 25 countries, especially Belgium, in the 9 months of the year.

Rize, which alone accounts for 37 percent of Türkiye's tea exports in terms of value, earned 9 million 205 thousand 793 dollars from this export.

"We expect our exports to gain momentum, especially in the last months of the year."

Mustafa Okutan, Member of the Board of Directors of DKİB and Chairman of the Tea Sector Committee, told the AA correspondent that the 9-month period of the year in Turkish tea exports was positive for the sector.

Okutan stated that the unique characteristics of Turkish tea, its quality production and the strong image identified with Rize increased the interest in Turkish tea in international markets.

Stating that the country diversity in exports is an important indicator for the sector, Okutan said, "The high number of countries we export to shows that the awareness of Turkish tea is increasing in different geographies. In addition to increasing our share in our current markets, we aim to reach markets where we are not yet sufficiently involved." he said.

Okutan emphasized that his expectations for the remaining period of the year are positive and said, "We expect our exports to gain momentum, especially in the last months of the year. Our goal is to exceed the previous period in terms of both quantity and export revenue at the end of the year. We continue our work as sector representatives for this." he said.

Pointing out that they attach importance to market diversity so that Turkish tea can meet consumers in more countries, Okutan made the following evaluation:

"It is not enough to just increase our exports in existing markets. We need to find new markets and promote Turkish tea more in these markets. We are trying to increase our awareness in different geographies, especially by highlighting the quality, naturalness and unique production features of Turkish tea."

Okutan added that further increasing the number of exported countries in the coming period is among the priorities of the sector.