Tea crop rebounds in November

Thursday, 22 December 2011 00:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s tea production rose 11.7 per cent in November, its first year-on-year rise in eight months, due to better application of fertiliser and agricultural practises, State-run Tea Board data showed on Wednesday.

Tea output in November recorded 31.23 million kilogrammes against 27.95 million kg in the same month last year. The output in the first 11 months has slipped 0.6 per cent to 302.14 million kg from 304.10 million in the same period last year.

“Good agricultural practices such as fertiliser application are the main reasons for the growth,” Sri Lanka Tea Board Director General H.D. Hemarathna told Reuters.

The Tea Board expects full-year output to end near last year’s record high of 329.4 million kg.

The Tea Board hopes revenue from Sri Lanka’s No. 1 agricultural export crop will rise to a record of more than $ 1.5 billion this year, from $ 1.4 billion last year despite turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, home to some of the island nation’s major customers.

Earnings from tea exports have risen 3.2 per cent to $ 1.1 billion in the first nine months of 2011, the Central Bank’s latest data shows. Earnings gained 16.1 per cent to hit $ 1.4 billion last year.

Tea is one of the $ 50 billion economy’s main foreign currency earners, along with remittances, garment exports and tourism.