Kazakhstan Black Tea Import Data 2017 — Verified Customs B/L Records

Comprehensive 12 customs bill-of-lading (B/L) records documenting Kazakhstan's 2017 black tea imports — covering 5 verified Kazakh tea importer companies (TOO GAHAR ALMATY, TOO Tea House, TOO Malu, FILIAL TEALAND TOO RG BRANDS KAZAKHSTAN, TOO AKMARAL SAUDA) and 8 exporter companies across 4 supplier countries (India, Sri Lanka, Kenya via Netherlands re-export, UAE free zone re-exports). All B/L records preserved in original Cyrillic Russian with English translations. HS code 0902.30 — Black fermented tea (whether or not flavored). Kazakhstan tea imports approximately 20,000–25,000 tonnes/year valued at USD 50–80 million — among world's highest per capita tea consumption at ~1.5 kg/year.

🍵 About HS 0902 + Kazakhstan Tea Market

HS Code 0902 covers Tea, whether or not flavored — under HS Chapter 09 (Coffee, tea, mate and spices). The HS 0902 heading has 4 sub-codes: 0902.10 — Green tea (not fermented) in immediate packings of ≤3 kg; 0902.20 — Green tea (not fermented) in immediate packings of >3 kg; 0902.30 — Black fermented tea and partly fermented tea (whether or not flavored) in immediate packings of ≤3 kg; 0902.40 — Black fermented tea in immediate packings of >3 kg. The Kazakhstan B/L records in this dataset overwhelmingly fall under HS 0902.30 — confirming that Kazakhstan imports primarily black fermented tea, reflecting the Central Asian tea culture where black tea (шай / шәй) is the dominant daily beverage consumed with milk and salt, often with traditional Kazakh baursak pastries.

Kazakhstan has one of the world's highest per capita tea consumption rates at approximately 1.5 kg per person per year — making it the 5th largest tea consumer per capita globally (after Turkey, Ireland, United Kingdom, and Russia). With a population of approximately 18 million, Kazakhstan's annual tea imports reach approximately 20,000–25,000 tonnes valued at USD 50–80 million. The country imports virtually no domestically-produced tea — Kazakhstan's climate is unsuitable for tea cultivation. Major supplier countries for Kazakhstan are: Sri Lanka (35%) — Ceylon black tea for premium retail segment; India (25%) — Assam and Darjeeling black tea, plus baikhovi (granulated) tea for the traditional Kazakh samovar brewing; Kenya (15%) — strong CTC black tea for tea bag segment; UAE re-exports (10%) — Dubai-based tea traders who consolidate and re-export; Turkey (5%) — Turkish tea brands; China (5%) — green and pu-erh tea for ethnic Chinese diaspora; Georgia (3%) and Iran (2%).

🏭 5 Kazakh Tea Importer Companies (B/L Consignees)

5 verified Kazakhstan tea importer companies identified across 12 B/L records. All corporate forms are TOO (Товарищество с ограниченной ответственностью — Partnership with Limited Liability — Kazakh LLC structure).

🌍 8 Exporter Companies (B/L Shippers)

The 12 B/L records document 8 unique tea exporter companies across 4 supplier countries (with intermediaries based in UAE and Netherlands handling re-exports). Below is a brief profile of each exporter with their country of origin and Kazakhstan B/L record count.

📋 12 B/L Records — Full Customs Documentation Table

All 12 customs B/L records preserved with original Cyrillic Russian descriptions + English translations. Source: 2017 Kazakhstan customs B/L data.

📊 Supplier Country Breakdown & Trade Patterns

Across the 12 B/L records, the supplier country breakdown reveals Kazakhstan's heavy reliance on Indian tea (5 records direct from India + 1 via UAE intermediary = 6 records total Indian-origin tea), with secondary supply from UAE free zone re-exports (5 records consolidated through Dubai/Sharjah free zones) and Sri Lanka (1 record direct + via Türkiye intermediary). Kenya-origin tea enters via Netherlands (Van Rees BV). This pattern reflects the historical Central Asian tea trade routes — with Türkiye and UAE serving as critical intermediary consolidation hubs between Asian tea producers and Central Asian markets.

A notable trade routing pattern emerges: two of the 12 B/L records (Ranfer Teas Sri Lanka → Gahar Almaty and Kamrup Tea India → Gahar Almaty) explicitly include "P/P BETA GIDA SAN. VE TIC. A.S." as an intermediary — referring to Beta Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., a Turkish food trading company. This routing pattern, where tea shipments from Asian producers pass through Türkiye before reaching Kazakhstan, is common in the CIS tea trade — Turkish intermediaries handle the financial settlement, customs documentation in Turkish/Cyrillic, halal certification, and rail transport logistics for CIS-bound tea shipments. A second notable pattern is the consolidation of tea shipments through UAE free zones (Sharjah Airport International Free Zone and Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) — Dubai and Sharjah are major global tea re-export hubs, with traders consolidating tea from India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Vietnam into bulk re-exports to CIS markets.

📋 HS Code Reference — HS 0902 Tea Classification

Kazakhstan applies the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Common External Tariff (CET) — tea imports (HS 0902) enter at 0% MFN tariff with a standard 12% VAT applied at customs clearance. EAEU comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan — tea moving within EAEU is exempt from customs duties. For Kazakhstan tea imports, the key compliance requirements are: (1) Sanitary-epidemiological conclusion (SEZ) from the Kazakh Sanitary-Epidemiological Service — required for all food imports; (2) Russian/Cyrillic labelling — Kazakh law requires both Kazakh and Russian language product labels; (3) EAC (Eurasian Conformity) mark — required for tea products sold in retail packaging in EAEU markets; (4) Phytosanitary certificate from origin country; (5) Certificate of origin — preferred origin (Form A) may apply for preferential tariff treatment under EAEU-Ukraine FTA or other bilateral agreements.

💡 For Tea Exporters Targeting Kazakhstan

International tea exporters — particularly from India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, China, Vietnam, and Türkiye — targeting Kazakhstan's 20,000–25,000 tonnes/year tea import market have multiple B2B engagement channels available. The 12 B/L records in this dataset document the actual importer-exporter trading relationships active in 2017 — providing a verified contact directory for new market entrants.

Key engagement points: (1) Direct B2B contact with the 5 Kazakh tea importer companies documented in this dataset (TOO Gahar Almaty, TOO Tea House, TOO Malu, FILIAL Tealand RG Brands, TOO Akmaral Sauda); (2) WorldFood Kazakhstan (annual November, Almaty) — Kazakhstan's largest food and beverage trade fair; (3) World Tea Expo (annual June, Las Vegas, USA) — global tea industry trade fair; (4) SIAL Paris (biennial October, France) — world's second-largest food trade fair with tea pavilion; (5) Anuga Köln (biennial October, Germany) — world's largest food trade fair; (6) Gulfood Dubai (annual February, UAE) — major food trade fair — key for connecting with UAE-based tea re-exporters like Pamir Trading and Inter Tradelink DMCC; (7) EAEU Single Window customs system — Kazakhstan operates the EAEU unified customs declaration system; (8) TürkExim B/L Database — for accessing additional Kazakhstan tea importer customs declaration data beyond the 12 records documented here.

TurkExim — Kazakhstan Tea Importer B/L Database

Need comprehensive customs declaration (B/L) data for Kazakhstan tea imports beyond this sample? TürkExim Data Desk offers the complete Kazakhstan tea importer database with B/L records for HS 0902 (tea whether or not flavored) — covering all Kazakh importers (TOO Gahar Almaty + TOO Tea House + TOO Malu + RG Brands + Akmaral Sauda + more), all supplier countries (India/Sri Lanka/Kenya/UAE/Vietnam/China/Türkiye/Georgia), export volumes (kilograms and tonnes), declared values (USD and KZT), ports of entry (Almaty airport + Khorgos land border + Aktau seaport), shipment dates, tea grade (BP1/CTC/baikhovi/orthodox), and consignee details. Excel/CSV formats. WhatsApp for pricing.