China's tea exports ebbed slightly in the first quarter of this year, due partly to more difficult market access in Europe and Japan and poor awareness of brand establishment among producers.

From January to March, China exported 70,000 tonnes of tea, a marginal decline of 1.7 percent from the same period of last year, sources with the General Administration of Customs said on Thursday.

But the export value rose 14.7 percent to 150 million U.S. dollars. Average price was 2,192 dollars per tonne, up 16.7 percent.

The United States replaced Japan to become the third largest target market of Chinese tea.

In the first three months, China sold 5,572 tons of tea to the United States, up 19.6 percent, and 4,664 tons to Japan, down 14.3 percent.

East China's Zhejiang Province remained the biggest exporter with tea sales at 41,000 tonnes, or 57.9 percent of China's total.

Hunan Province and Shanghai Municipality experienced a fast growth in tea exports, with the former selling 6,454 tons abroad, up 39.1 percent, and the latter exporting 6,091 tons, up 38.6 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2008)