Tea crop up 19% in July

Reuters: Tea output rose 18.9% in July compared to a year earlier, the state-run Tea Board said on Monday as industry officials attributed the gain to lower production last year. Production in the first seven months of the year edged up 3.7% 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.

Tea crop...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% 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% to $ 1.26 billion in 2016 from $ 1.33 billion in 2015. Sri Lanka recorded its highest earnings of $ 1.63 billion in 2014.