Overview

• The 2025 theme, 'Tea for Better Lives,' underscores tea's contributions to global livelihoods, sustainability, and health, as announced by the FAO on May 21.
• Global tea production reached 6.5 million metric tons in 2021, with smallholder farmers producing 60% of the total output, highlighting their critical role in the industry.
• Kenya, one of the largest tea exporters, reported a 13.55% drop in early 2025 tea production due to severe drought, underscoring climate change's impact on tea cultivation.
• In Bangladesh, over 60% of tea workers are women, yet they often earn less than $1.25 per day, spotlighting systemic wage and gender inequities in the sector.
• Tea's global market value is projected to grow from $260 billion in 2023 to $362 billion by 2029, driven by rising consumer demand for sustainable and ethically sourced products.