SRI LANKA TEA PRODUCTION - OCTOBER 2024

Sri Lanka Tea Production for the month of October 2024 totalled 21.15 million Kgs, recording a decrease of 1.85 million Kgs vis-à-vis 23.00 million Kgs of October 2023. All Elevations have recorded a decrease in comparison with the corresponding month of 2023.

January-October 2024 cumulative production totalled 217.65 million Kgs, recording an increase of 1.16 million Kgs vis-à-vis 216.49 million Kgs of January-October 2023. Compared to the corresponding period in 2023, High Growns have shown a negative variance, whilst Medium and Low Growns gained in the year 2024.

Compared to 211.76 million Kgs of January-October 2022, cumulative production of 2024 shows an increase of 5.89 million Kgs. On a cumulative basis, apart from the High Growns, all elevations have shown positive variances over the corresponding period of 2022.

The available tea crop figures for the first ten months are appended below (in MT). 

SRI LANKA TEA EXPORTS - OCTOBER 2024

Tea Exports for the month of October 2024 totalled 20.79 million Kgs, showing a positive variance of 2.58 million Kgs vis-à-vis 18.21 million Kgs of October 2023. All categories have recorded gains in comparison with the corresponding month of the previous year.

January-October 2024 cumulative exports totalled 203.15 million Kgs, recording an increase of 3.45 million Kgs vis-à-vis 199.70 million Kgs of January-October 2023. Tea Packets recorded a negative variance, whilst all other categories have shown positive variances against the same period of the previous year.

FOB value for the period stood at Rs. 1,774.98, a marginal decrease of Rs. 2.45 (increase of USD 0.43) vis-à-vis Rs. 1,777.43 of January-October 2023. 

Tea in Bulk and Packeted tea recorded marginal gains in LKR terms on FOB value, whilst the other categories recorded negative variances compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

In USD terms, all categories recorded gains except for the Instant Tea category which recorded a marginal decline in FOB value compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

Iraq ranks at No. 1 amongst major importers of Ceylon Tea with a total of 27.11 million Kgs in January-October 2024, a marginal decline of 3% YoY against the previous year's 28.09 million Kgs, whilst Russia at 2nd place has witnessed an increase of 8% YoY with 20.61 million Kgs. The U.A.E with 18.75 million Kgs (27% increase YoY) followed by Türkiye 14.76 million Kgs (42% decrease YoY), China 9.67 million Kgs (2% decrease YoY), Azerbaijan 8.76 (increase of 15%) and Iran 8.75 million Kgs (increase of 83%) have been cited as other notable importers of Ceylon Tea during the period of January-October 2024.

The tea export figures for the first ten months are listed below (in MT).   

MAJOR IMPORTERS OF SRI LANKA TEA – OCTOBER 2024/2023 - in MT  

SRI LANKA TEA PRODUCTION - DECEMBER 2023

Sri Lanka Tea Production for the month of December 2023 totalled 19.81 million Kgs, showing an increase of 0.10 million Kgs vis-à-vis 19.71 million Kgs of December 2022. All Elevations except for the Low Grown Elevation have shown an increase in comparison with the corresponding period of 2022.

Compared to 20.52 million Kgs of December 2021, the production of December 2023 shows a decrease of 0.71 million Kgs.

January-December 2023 cumulative production totalled 256.04 million Kgs, recording an increase of 4.20 million Kgs vis-à-vis 251.84 million Kgs of January-December 2022. Compared to the corresponding period in 2022, all elevations have shown positive variances in the year 2023 aside from the Low Grown Elevation.

Compared to 299.49 million Kgs of January-December 2021, cumulative production of 2023 shows a decrease of 43.45 million Kgs. On a cumulative basis, all elevations show a decrease over the corresponding period of 2021.

The available tea crop figures for the twelve months’ period are appended below (in MT).  

SRI LANKA TEA EXPORTS - DECEMBER 2023

Tea Exports for the month of December 2023 totalled 20.75 million Kgs, showing an increase of 1.45 million Kgs vis-à-vis 19.30 million Kgs of December 2022. Packeted Tea together with Tea Bags and Green Tea have seen an improvement against the corresponding month of 2022, whilst Tea in Bulk and Instant Tea have shown a decline.

January-December 2023 cumulative exports totalled 241.91 million Kgs, showing a decrease of 8.28 million Kgs vis-à-vis 250.19 million Kgs of January - December 2022. Tea Bags and Green Tea categories have recorded a marginal growth, whilst the remaining product categories recorded a decrease against the same period of 2022.

FOB value for the period stood at Rs. 1,770.44, an increase of Rs. 127.33 vis-à-vis Rs. 1,643.11 of January-December 2022.

All categories showed gains in USD terms as well when compared to the corresponding period of 2022.

Iraq remains at No. 1 amongst major importers of Ceylon Tea with a total of 32.75 million Kgs, a decline of 24% YoY against 43.24 million Kgs in 2022. Türkiye has emerged in 2nd place with 30.41 million Kgs and growing by 95% YoY surpassing Russia (3rd Position) and the U.A.E (4th Position) where exports have declined by 8% and 18% YoY respectively. China has moved up to No. 5 with an increase of 10% against the same period in 2022. Other notable importer countries are Libya, Azerbaijan, Chile, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Iran has dropped from 5th to 11th position with a 50% decline in imports for the period under review.

The tea export figures for the twelve months are listed below (in MT).   

MAJOR IMPORTERS OF SRI LANKA TEA – JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2023/2022 - in MT