Friday Jun 19, 2026
Friday Jun 19, 2026
Thursday, 18 June 2026 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka’s tea production declined in May and remained below last year’s levels during the first five months of 2026, although the output continued to outperform 2024 figures, highlighting a mixed performance for the country’s key export crop.
According to data analysed by Forbes & Walker Research, tea production in May 2026 totalled 24.91 million kilos, down by 0.52 million kilos from the 25.43 million kilos recorded in May 2025.
However, production was marginally higher than the 24.65 million kilos reported in May 2024, reflecting an increase of
0.26 million kilos.
The year-on-year (YoY) decline in May was driven by lower output from the High and Medium Grown elevations, as well as the Green Tea segment, while the Low Grown category registered an increase compared with the same month last year.
For the January-May period, cumulative tea production stood at 108.95 million kilos, a decrease of 5.11 million kilos from the 114.06 million kilos produced during the corresponding period of 2025.
The first five month’s performance indicates a broader slowdown across the industry, with all elevation categories recording negative variances against last year, with the exception of the Green Tea segment.
Despite the setback compared with 2025, the industry remains ahead of 2024 levels. Cumulative production during the first five months of 2026 exceeded the 104.80 million kilos registered in the same period of 2024 by 4.15 million kilos.
Notably, Forbes & Walker Research all elevation categories posted gains against the corresponding January-May period of 2024, suggesting that while production has softened from last year’s stronger performance, the sector continues to show improvement over longer-term output trends.
The latest figures underscore the challenges facing Sri Lanka’s tea industry in sustaining last year’s production levels, even as output remains above that achieved two years ago.
