GUIYANG, Aug. 4 -- The foreign trade volume of tea on the Chinese mainland reached 196,400 tonnes during the first half (H1) of 2024, up 2.21 percent year on year, according to the Tea Industry Committee of China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation.

During the period, China's import volume of tea reached 24,400 tonnes, an increase of 41.54 percent, while the import value of tea reached 72 million U.S. dollars, up 10.14 percent year on year.

Belt and Road partner countries were the biggest tea trade partners in the first six months of this year, with their tea trade with China reaching some 168,400 tonnes during the period, according to Wei You, secretary general of the tea industry committee.

The committee released an annual report on China's tea trade with Belt and Road partner countries during an industrial conference held on Sunday in southwest China's Guizhou Province. The report points out that green tea was the major export category in the tea trade with Belt and Road partner countries during the period, accounting for 92.35 percent of the total.