User:Buccilla3/Argentine tea culture

Tea Production[edit]
Argentina is an important tea-producing nation, the world's ninth-largest tea producer as of 2005 with estimated annual production of 64,000 metric tons.

The Argentine regions with the largest concentration of tea cultivation are the highlands of the Misiones and Corrientes provinces in northeastern Argentina, where the climate is hot and humid. The major plantations are on relatively flat land where highly mechanized production can occur. The growing season for tea is from November to May. '''Five to ten seeds are placed together, several inches underneath the surface of the soil and during the first year these seeds are protected from the sun by short bamboo sticks or cones of thatch. Once the tea is planted, most plantations only receive the minimum amount of attention. Even the most up to date plantations the tea grows without the protection of shade trees!  The teas from Argentina today are some of the least expensive in the world and they are mainly used for processing into ready-to-drink (RTD) and iced tea, given their deep color and brisk taste. '''

Tea exports from Argentina total about 50 million kilograms annually. Argentine tea is primarily used for blending. The largest export market is the United States, where the majority of consumption is for iced tea. The United Kingdom and other parts of Europe also are markets for the country's tea. '''Although Argentina is responsible for majority of the nations tea production for export across the globe, only about 5 percent of the production is consumed locally. The 78,000 mt (metric tons) that was exported in 2015 represents 4 percent of the total world tea exports and they go to a well diversified range of customers with the main buyer being the USA, which purchased 55,300 mt of tea from Argentina in 2015.  The tea production as well as trade, in Argentina is only expected to increase from now into the future, as the nation is becoming more aware of the developing tea business.'''