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Revenue from tea exports rose by Rs. 7.6 billion in the first seven months of the year, reaching Rs. 141.4 billion, compared to Rs. 133.8 billion earned during the same period in 2018, tea brokers said yesterday.
Exports for the month of July totalled 24.8 M/kgs vis-à-vis 25.2 M/kgs of July 2018, showing a decrease of 0.4 M/kgs. Packeted tea, together with tea bags have shown a gain year-on-year, whilst bulk tea shows a decrease, Forbes and Walker said in their weekly tea report. Total revenue for the month of July 2019 of Rs. 19.5 billion showed a decrease of Rs. 0.4 billion, vis-à-vis Rs. 19.9 billion of July 2018. Consequently, the FOB value for July 2019 of Rs. 786.93 decreased Rs. 4.47 when compared to Rs. 791.40 of July 2018.
When analysing January-July 2019, exports of 170.0 M/kgs shows a growth of 7.3 M/kgs vis-à-vis 162.7 M/kgs of January-July 2018. On a cumulative basis, all main categories of exports (i.e. tea bags, packeted tea and bulk tea) have shown a gain compared to the corresponding period of 2018.
Meanwhile, revenue of Rs. 141.4 billion realised for January-July 2019 shows a gain of Rs. 7.6 billion vis-à-vis Rs. 133.8 billion of January-July 2018, resulting in the FOB value for the period January-June 2019 of Rs. 831.77, gaining Rs. 9.33 vis-à-vis Rs. 822.44 of January-July 2018, the report added.
Iraq continues to be the largest importer of Sri Lankan Tea, closely followed by Turkey and Russia. Meanwhile, Iran is placed fourth. Other noteworthy importers are Libya, China, and Azerbaijan. It is also relevant to note that destinations such as India, USA, and Germany have shown a fairly significant increase in imports during the period under review, whilst Chile and UAE have shown a decrease in imports.
Tea production for the month of July 2019 totalled 25.2 M/kgs vis-à-vis 23.9 M/kgs of 2018, showing a gain of 1.3 M/kgs year-on-year. It is relevant to note that High Growns have shown the highest growth followed by Medium Growns, whilst Low Growns show a marginal decrease compared to the corresponding month of 2018.
On a cumulative basis, January-July 2019 total production of 184 million kgs shows a gain of 1.9 M/kgs vis-à-vis 182.0 M/kgs of January-July 2018. Medium Growns and Low Growns have shown a growth year-on-year, whilst High Growns show a decrease compared to the corresponding period of 2018.
Analysing the CTC production for July 2019 of 1.8 M/kgs shows a gain of 0.1 M/kgs vis-à-vis 1.7 M/kgs of July 2018. High Grown production for the month has shown a significant gain vis-à-vis July 2019 followed by Medium Growns. Meanwhile, Low Growns have shown a decrease compared to the corresponding month of 2018.
On a cumulative basis, however, January-July 2019 CTC production of 13.1 M/kgs shows a decrease of 0.7 M/kgs vis-à-vis 13.9 M/kgs of January-July 2018. All elevations on a cumulative basis have shown a decrease in production compared to the corresponding period of 2018.
A total of 7.28 M/kgs came under the hammer this week. Low Grown/Large Leaf teas continued to meet with reasonably good demand although at slightly lower levels, whilst High & Mid Grown small leaf teas encountered a disappointing sale with the exception of a few select teas from the Western and Uva districts that appreciated following special inquiry.
Ex-Estate offerings comprised of approximately 1 M/kgs. Overall, quality was preferable to last with a small selection of Westerns showing some improvement and a selection of Uvas with seasonal quality and character. The latter was reasonably compensated following the improvement in quality, whilst the demand for the Westerns were generally disappointing and consequently, a lower trend in prices for most teas on offer. High & Mid Grown CTC teas barely sold around last week’s levels, whilst Low Grown varieties were irregular following quality.
Low Growns comprised of 3.2 M/kgs in the Leafy/Tippy catalogues this week. There was good demand at slightly lower levels. In the Leafy catalogue, select best OP1/BOP1s sold at fully firm to dearer rates. Others too were mostly firm barring teas that did not maintain quality where prices declined. High priced PEK/PEK1s were barely steady. Others were firm. A few select best OPs maintained, whilst others and OPAs were mostly irregular and lower. In the Tippy catalogue, a few select best FBOP’s maintained, whilst better FF1’s were irregular. Cleaner secondaries were, however, mostly firm. At the lower end, cleaner types were firm. In the Premium catalogue, prices were mostly firm to dearer. There was good demand from shippers to Turkey, CIS, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
