Thirst for matcha hikes production

An industry report released on Sunday has revealed that China is on track to produce nearly 70 percent of the world's matcha this year, after its export volume overtook Japan's for the first time in 2025.

Matcha is a finely ground green tea powder that can be added to milk, cakes and a wide range of drinks and food items, giving off a grassy aroma and a gentle bitterness.

"The global matcha market is growing very rapidly. Over the past five years, its compound annual growth rate has exceeded 10 percent, far outpacing the growth of avocados and plant-based milk and placing it among the top tier of health foods," Yu Yingjie of the China Tea Marketing Association said at the 2026 Matcha Conference on Sunday.

As matcha surges in popularity around the world, industry experts have called on China's matcha sector to strengthen ecological cultivation and certification standards.

Katrin Rougeventre, a French tea expert, said the rapid global rise in demand for matcha has been driven by its health and wellness appeal, as well as its spread through consumer culture in the United States.

According to the report, China produced 12,000 metric tons of matcha last year, and output is projected to rise to 18,000 tons this year.

The provinces of Guizhou and Zhejiang are among the country's leading producers, while Hubei province is developing quickly. The report was released in the city of Tongren, Guizhou, one of China's key matcha-producing regions.

"In the current global matcha landscape, China and Japan are the core players. China has the edge in scale, cost and efficiency, while Japan dominates the high-end market," Yu said.

As China's matcha industry grows, quality control and export compliance have become practical challenges.

In Guizhou, a traditional tea-growing region, local experts have long called for stricter cultivation and testing standards for tea, including matcha. Because matcha tea plants are cultivated under shaded conditions before harvesting, the plants receive less sunlight, humidity rises, and the risk of pests and disease increases.

"Since matcha is consumed whole, pesticide residues, heavy metals and microorganisms all require stricter control. Given the huge export volume, compliance in overseas markets is also an issue that must be addressed," said Song Bao'an, a pesticide expert and president of Guizhou University.

"A problem is that EU standards are even stricter. That is why we need early-warning systems for maximum residue limits (MRLs), expanded sampling and stronger penalties."

Song and his team have been testing biological control techniques in matcha gardens across Guizhou. One method is "using grass to suppress grass", relying on clovers' fast-spreading growth to curb weeds in tea fields.

According to Song, an abandoned tea garden at a 6.67-hectare demonstration base in Tongren reached a yield of 9.6 metric tons per hectare after all inputs met organic production standards.

The water extractives content, a key source of tea flavor, also improved.

Industry insiders said these techniques are likely to be promoted more widely in the near future, creating room for Chinese-made matcha to move toward higher quality and greater value.

As Rougeventre put it, the fast-growing matcha market is being shaped by rising demand for organic products and a stronger focus on health-conscious consumption, while China's challenge is to improve product consistency.

Contact the writers at liuboqian@chinadaily.com.cn