According to data from the Bureau of National Statistics, Kazakhstanis consumed less tea in the first six months of 2024. At the same time, the country’s import of coffee increased.
«Over the first months of the year, Kazakhstan imported 13,400 tons of tea for $40.4 million, which is a 28.1% decline compared to the same period of last year,» the agency said.
Most of Kazakhstan’s tea imports come from Kenya (4,800 tons), India (4,700 tons), China and Russia (1,100 tons each). Other suppliers include Vietnam, Iran, Sri Lanka and Georgia.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan actively imported coffee during the first five months of the year from Brazil, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, the U.K. and Russia. As a result, the domestic market supply grew by 6% to 1,300 tons, according to the LS online media outlet
As LS reported, Kazakhstan also exports tea to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia and Turkey. Even though coffee is also on the country’s export list, the volume of this export isn’t significant, ranging from 300 kilograms to 88.9 tons. The main destinations for this coffee are Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Georgia.
Domestic sales of coffee and tea dropped by almost 30% over the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023. The current volume is 20,200 tons, the lowest rate in the last seven years.
Over the past ten years, coffee imports have grown by 3.8 times, whereas tea imports have remained unchanged.
