Tea output jumps 19% in July

REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s tea output rose 18.9 percent in July compared to a year earlier, the state-run Tea Board said as industry officials attributed the gain to lower production last year. 

Production in the first seven months of the year edged up 3.7 percent compared to the same period last year. 

“The gain is mainly because of the low base effect. The July tea production reverts to pre-2016 levels,” said Anil Cooke, head of Asia Siyaka Commodities.

Lower use of fertilisers, weak market prices and a government ban on the use of pesticides resulted in a decline in production last year. 

Sri Lanka’s tea output hit a seven-year low in 2016, falling 11.1 percent in its third straight year of declining production due to adverse weather. 

Tea export volume dropped to a 14-year low in 2016, broker data showed.

 
Export earnings fell 5.3 percent to US $1.26 billion in 2016 from US $1.33 billion in 2015. 

Sri Lanka recorded its highest earnings of US $1.63 billion in 2014.