Tea crop suffers worst decline in 13 years

Saturday, 19 March 2022 01:09 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

AFP: Sri Lanka’s tea crop suffered its lowest yield in 13 years, official data showed Friday, reducing output in its main export commodity as the island grapples with its worst economic crisis in seven decades.

The country’s agriculture sector was hit hard by a ban on agrochemicals imposed last April as the Government introduced an ambitious plan to make Sri Lanka the world’s first nation to rely solely on organic farming.

The ban was lifted in October following backlash from the industry but farmers were left unable to access imported fertiliser as the country simultaneously ran out of dollars to finance imports with the pandemic battering Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.

“What we are seeing today is a self-inflicted wound on the tea industry,” a senior tea broker at the Colombo Tea Traders’ Association told AFP.

Monthly tea crops dropped to 18.16 million kilos (39.95 million pounds) in February, down nearly 20% from the corresponding period last year, the Sri Lanka Tea Board figures showed.

“This is the lowest crop for the month since 12.8 million kilos were recorded in 2009,” broking firm Asia Siyaka said.

The Government has said an unprecedented shortage of food, fuel and medicines is due to the collapse of its foreign reserves.

Tea exports brought in $ 1.3 billion annually before the fertiliser ban.

Industry officials added that around 10% of Sri Lanka’s exports had also been affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both countries are top buyers of Sri Lanka’s aromatic black tea.