Iran’s annual tea imports hit an all-time record in the calendar year to late March, according to figures by the country’s customs administration (IRICA).
IRICA figures cited in Saturday report by the IRIB News showed that tea imports into Iran had topped $665 million in the year to March 20, up 45.9% from the previous year.
IRICA said Iran had received tea supplies from 10 countries around the world, without naming them.
That comes as the country had signed a $250 million agreement with Sri Lanka in December 2021 to import tea from the Indian Ocean state in return for arrears it was owed for supply of energy products in the previous year.
Iran’s tea imports from India also rose last year amid better trade relations between the two countries.
Iran has a tea demand of nearly 100,000 metric tons (mt) per year of which some 26,000 mt were sourced from domestic farmers last calendar year, according to IRICA figures.
The figures showed that Iran’s domestic tea output reached an all-time record of 36,000 mt in the year to March.
Tea exports from Iran also reached a record high of 10,000 mt worth $44.2 million last calendar year, up 34.8% in value terms compared with the year to late March 2022, showed the data.
The Iranian customs office said Iranian-grown tea had been supplied to customers in 26 countries around the world in the year to late March.