Which of the following countries is the largest exporter of tea in the world?

Kenya is the answer. By export volume, Kenya has been the world's largest tea exporter for well over a decade, shipping roughly 450,000 to 500,000 tonnes a year around 2016, mostly CTC black tea sold through the Mombasa auction and to buyers such as Pakistan, Egypt and Russia.

• China is the largest producer, not the largest exporter. Most of its output is consumed at home, and its exports are well below Kenya's volume, though it leads in green tea.
• India is a major producer and consumer with a large domestic market. Its exports are much lower than Kenya's.
• Sri Lanka is a leading exporter of high-grown Ceylon tea and earns high value per kg, but its volume is far below Kenya's.

Core concept: production and export are different questions, and volume and value can rank countries differently. For Mains, this links to plantation economy, export competitiveness in agricultural trade, and the role of the Tea Board of India in marketing and quality control.

Trap: picking China because it is the world's biggest tea producer.