Tea exports decline in February despite growth in key markets

Thursday, 20 March 2025 04:46 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Export volume down by 1.91 m/kgs to 20.40 m/kgs
FOB value of Rs. 1,737.25 sees drop of Rs. 51.91 YoY from Rs. 1,789.43; however, in USD terms, month registers marginal increase of $ 0.13
Jan.-Feb. exports decline by 1.30 m/kgs YoY to 39.77 m/kgs
Iraq emerges as top importer during first two months, followed by Russia and Libya

Sri Lanka’s tea exports registered a decline in February, despite a positive growth in key international markets.

Total shipments in February amounted to 20.40 million kilos, down by 1.91 million kilos compared to 22.31 million kilos in the same period of 2024.Forbes & Walker said the decline was observed across most categories, except for packeted tea. The free on board (FOB) value for February 2025 stood at Rs. 1,737.25 per kilo, reflecting a decrease of Rs. 51.91 year-on-year (YoY) compared to Rs. 1,789.43 in February 2024. However, in US Dollar terms, the month registered a marginal increase of $ 0.13 compared to the previous year.

Cumulative tea exports for January-February 2025 totalled 39.77 million kilos, showing a decline of 1.30 million kilos compared to 41.07 million kilos in the first two months of 2024.

Although the tea packets, tea bags and instant tea segments reported growth, the tea in bulk and green tea categories witnessed a decline.

The overall FOB value for the first two months was Rs. 1,730.34 per kilo, a drop of Rs. 40.58 from Rs. 1,770.92 registered in the same period in 2024.Despite this decline in Rupee terms, all categories except for instant tea saw gains in US Dollar terms.

Iraq emerged as the top importer of Ceylon Tea, with 5.96 million kilos in January-February 2025 – an increase of 13% YoY from 5.30 million kilos in 2024. Russia, ranking second, recorded a 10% YoY decline, importing 4.08 million kilos compared to 4.52 million kilos in the previous year. Libya ranked third, showing a remarkable 653% increase, importing 3.63 million kilos against just 0.48 million kilos in 2024.

Other major importers included the UAE, which saw a significant 44% YoY decline to 2.78 million kilos, and Türkiye, which recorded a 34% decrease, importing 1.96 million kilos.

In contrast, Chile’s imports increased by 26% to 1.84 million kilos. Saudi Arabia secured seventh position with 1.59 million kilos, slightly ahead of China, which imported 1.59 million kilos as well. Azerbaijan followed with 1.50 million kilos, while Iran saw a sharp 55% decline, dropping from 2.9 million kilos in 2024 to 1.29 million kilos in 2025.

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