Tea exports drop by 2 M kg in Aug

Sri Lanka’s tea exports last month showed a drop of 2.47 million kg totalling 23.01 million kg compared to the same period last year when the total was 25.48 million kg.

FOB value of Rs.1,951.82 in August 2022 records the highest ever in a calendar month surpassing the previous best of Rs.1,863.74 recorded in July 2022. The FOB value had increased to Rs.1,034.62 from the previous year’s price of Rs.917.20.

The January – August 2022 cumulative exports totalled 171.06 million kg, clearly indicating a drop of 16.51 million kg compared to the same period last year when the exports were at 187.57 million kg, the Forbes & Walker market report stated.

All categories have shown a decline in comparison with the corresponding period of 2021.

During this period Iraq has remained the top major importer of Ceylon Tea with an increase of 31 per cent in imports year on year. Russia has secured second position with a total of 14.98 million kg, which is a 19 per cent decrease against total imports recorded for this period last year.

UAE sits in third place with a total of 14.78 million kg followed by Turkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan and Libya respectively during this eight month period.

A significant drop in imports was reported from Turkiye (58 per cent), China (20 per cent), Syria (23 per cent), Japan (12 per cent) and Jordon (21 per cent) YOY.

A notable increase in imports was recorded from Azerbaijan, Germany, US, Saudi Arabia and Poland as expanding markets for Ceylon Tea. (SD)