ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s tea exports have dropped to a 25-years low in 2022 hit by a fertilizer shortage due to an ill-advised agrochemical ban, an industry report said.
Sri Lanka exported 250.19 million kgs of tea in 2022, 13 percent down compared to 2021 and it is the lowest since 1997.
All categories of tea have recorded a drop except the instant tea.
“In a very challenging year of poor supply, turbulent domestic working environment, compounded by multiple international challenges, Sri Lanka exported 250.19 million kg 148 countries,” tea broker firm Asia Siyaka said in a report.
“Despite reasonable weather conditions throughout 2022, Sri Lanka tea production declined sharply and is likely to end the year at around 252 million kgs compared with 299 million kgs in 2021.”
The exports generated $1.27 billion in earnings, a decrease of 4.5 percent compared to 2021, the data showed.
In rupee terms, Sri Lanka has earned 411.09 billion rupees, an increase of 56 percent in comparison to 263.35 billion rupees in 2021, mainly due to sharp depreciation of the rupee currency.
Auction houses said this is the highest ever earnings in term of the local currency in a calendar year.
“International buyers loyal to Ceylon Tea paid up to 9% more despite high freight rates and disrupted shipping schedules and other constraints,” the broker said.
Iraq, Russia and UAE have remained the top markets for Ceylon tea. (Colombo/Jan20/2023)
Anyone who knows his opinions about organic culture against chemical fertilizer-applied agriculture would know that natural organically grown food would be more healthy. Most, if not all, farmed food are genetically modified to grow only by chemical applied fertilizer, and would not grow healthily elsewhere. The cry now for bulk growling for profit, and failure to get the profit is blamed on the government, and politics takes over to benefit from this chaos. a few get rich to the sacrifice of the consumer, and the loss is shouldered by the taxpayer.