Tea industry starts 2011 with crop dip

Wednesday, 2 March 2011 01:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka has experienced a significant 6.1 million kilo-decline in crop in January.

Lanka Commodity Brokers attributed the dip to the extremely wet weather conditions that prevailed in December, last year, which indeed has had its toll on our tea production.

January cropped amounted to 20.6 million kilos as against 26.8 million kilos achieved a year earlier.

Biggest producer Low Grown saw a crop of 13.1 million kilos, down from 17.4 million in January 2010 whilst High Grown production dropped from 5.8 million kilos last year to 4.7 million kilos in January 2011.

Medium grown crop was 2.8 million kilos, lower in comparison to 3.6 million achieved in January 2010.

“Sri Lanka experienced severe rainfall in December, 2010, said to be the highest in 10 years, and too much rain coupled with dull and overcast skies have severely impeded growth, which is reflected in the decline in our national tea production for January this year,” Lanka Commodity Brokers said.

The dip in January is following the tea industry ending 2010 with the highest ever crop of 329.38 million kilos comfortably above the 2008 record of 318.6 million kilos. Following the drought in 2009, production slumped to a 9 year low of 291 million kilos.