COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's tea output fell 10.6 percent due to adverse weather in November, the state-run Tea Board said on Wednesday.
But production in the first eleven months of the year rose 6.8 percent from the same period last year.
"There was heavy rain in November, that is the main reason that we see a dip in November tea production," Sri Lanka Tea Board Director-General S.A. Siriwardena told Reuters.
The drop in output comes as Russia says it has placed temporary restrictions on imports of tea from Sri Lanka after finding a beetle in a consignment.
Russia's agriculture safety watchdog plans to discuss the issue with Sri Lanka at the end of December.
Sri Lankan plantation minister Naveen Dissanayake told reporters on Wednesday that the country follows European quarantine standards, but added that it is ready to negotiate with Russian authorities over any further testing.
Siriwardena said the country could achieve 305-310 million kilos by the end of the year, compared with last year's 292.4 million kilos.
Sri Lanka's tea output hit a seven-year low in 2016, falling 11.1 percent in its third straight year of declining production.
Tea export volume dropped to a 14-year low in 2016, broker data showed. Export earnings fell 5.3 percent to $1.26 billion in 2016 from $1.33 billion in 2015. Sri Lanka recorded its highest earnings of $1.63 billion in 2014. Sri Lanka's tea output (kg).
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.