Sri Lanka's October tea exports drop 4% YoY

Tea exports from Sri Lanka experienced a slight dip in October, declining by 4% year-on-year (YoY) to reach a total of 18.21 million kilograms. 

This marks a departure from the consistent trend of exporting over 20 million kilograms for the preceding five months, bringing volumes back to levels observed in January to April 2023, averaging around 17.5 million kilograms per month during that timeframe.

In terms of product categories for October, packeted tea and tea bags saw a modest improvement, while other categories faced a decline compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

The Free on Board (FOB) value for October 2023 was recorded at Rs.1,705.24, indicating a YoY decrease of Rs.372.22, compared to Rs.2,077.46 in October 2022. With the exception of instant tea, all categories registered negative variances in both Sri Lanka rupee and US dollar terms.

Cumulatively, tea exports for January to October 2023 declined by 5.6% YoY, amounting to 211.91 million kilograms. Notably, the tea bag and green tea categories experienced marginal growth, while other product categories witnessed a decline compared to the same period in 2022.

On a cumulative basis, the FOB value for this period stood at Rs.1,777.42, reflecting an increase of Rs.200.35 compared to Rs.1,577.07 in January-October 2022. In US dollar terms, all categories showed gains when compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

Analyzing the major importers of Ceylon Tea for the first ten months of 2023, Iraq emerged as the largest market, importing a total of 28.09 million kilograms. However, it experienced a 27% YoY contraction against the 38.40 million kilograms imported in 2022. Turkey claimed the second position, importing 25.53 million kilograms and showing a substantial growth of 118%. This surpassed Russia, now in the third position, and the UAE in the fourth position, with Ceylon Tea exports to these two countries contracting by 8% and 20% YoY, respectively. China maintained its fifth position, with a marginal increase of 4% compared to the same period in 2022.