2026 National Spring Tea Market Situation in March

Overall purchase prices in production areas have slightly decreased with marked divergence

In March, tea prices in production areas showed a clear divergence. Prices for core regional brands and tea from core production areas remained largely flat or saw a slight decrease year-on-year, while prices for emerging regional brands and tea from non-core production areas dropped more significantly. In bulk raw material production areas, where procurement prices were already low, the price decline was relatively modest.

According to survey and analysis, the main factors behind the market price decline are as follows: first, the tea planting areas has continued to expand in recent years, with some newly devolepted tea gardens entering their peak yield period, leading to a steady increase in tea output and persistent oversupply; second, there is a large volume of product inventory, coupled with relatively low market expectations and a pronounced wait-and-see attitude, resulting in weak slack buying sentiment  among tea merchants.

In March, the prices of fresh tea leaves in newly harvested tea regions gradually declined after an initial high phase at the start of the harvest. The average price ranges for Xi Hu Longjing, Huangshan Maofeng, and Dongting Biluochun tea increased by 10% to 40%. In areas where harvesting began earlier, fresh tea leaf prices entered a stable period as market supply increased. For example, in Zunyi, Qiandongnan and other production areas in Guizhou, the price of one-bud-one-leaf tea leaves stabilized at 70–80 RMB/kg, while in Baise, Guangxi, the price dropped to and stabilized at around 40 RMB/kg.

Information from large tea markets in Zhejiang, Hubei, Fujian and other regions shows that in March, the transaction volume and value of dried raw tea increased year-on-year, but the average price decreased year-on-year. According to feedback from Xinchang China Tea Market: within the month, the transaction volume decreased by 3.5% year-on-year, the transaction value decreased by 5.5% year-on-year, and the average transaction price decreased by 2.1% year-on-year. According to feedback from the Southern Zhejiang Tea Market: within the month, the transaction volume increased by 19.6% year-on-year, the transaction value increased by 5.5% year-on-year, and the average transaction price decreased by 11.8% year-on-year.

Overall, buyers in the production area markets have a relatively strong wait-and-see attitude, and the connection between production and sales remains relatively sluggish. The daily backlog in the spring tea production area markets is quite pronounced, with the growth rate of new supply outpacing the increase in overall transaction volume. The supply-demand balance is temporarily skewed, and some regions have reported cold storage facilities reaching full capacity.

Weak consumption and sluggish trading in distribution markets

According to feedback from consumer markets in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai: thanks to the wide availability of online information, the concepts of gift tea, novelty tea, and everyday staple tea have become more clearly defined among consumer groups. Gift tea and novelty tea focus on top-tier brands and high-quality production areas, with relatively small overall consumption volumes, high and stable unit prices, and a strong emphasis on product traceability—this is especially prominent in the pre-Qingming tea market. Everyday staple tea focuses on cost-effective products, with relatively large overall consumption volumes, and prices have seen a certain degree of decline.

Feedback from regions such as Shandong, Hebei, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang indicates that due to the warm winter, which caused spring tea to arrive on the market early and supply to be released in a concentrated manner, the average price of everyday staple tea fell by 15%–20% year-on-year. Prices of first-pick, second-pick, and high-end niche categories from core production areas remained relatively firm, but consumption volumes declined compared to previous years. Live-streaming sales from origin regions and local e-commerce group buying became the main growth channels, with orders from the young customer group aged 25–40 increasing year-on-year.

Overall, this year’s early spring tea arrived on the market earlier, with a rapid increase in volume and improved quality, quickly meeting the demand in the mid-to-low end of the market. As demand was gradually satisfied, sales growth slowed markedly, and overall prices fell by about 10–15% year-on-year. In some renowned tea-producing regions, adverse weather led to a slower increase in output, resulting in weaker overall supply and stable prices with reduced volumes. In March, the spring tea consumption market showed generally sluggish sales, an expanding share of mid-to-low grade teas, a decline in revenue from high-to-mid grade teas, and stable revenue from low-grade teas.