2023 brews highest tea export earnings

• Value up by 4% to Rs. 428 b or $ 1.3 b over 2022
• Volume decreases by 3.3% YoY to 241.9 m kilos
• Annual FOB unit price increases to $ 5.41 per kilo, signalling continued preference for Ceylon Tea
• Tea crop improves marginally from 251.83 m kilos to 256.03 m kilos 

Sri Lanka’s Tea exports for 2023 earned a record Rs. 428.29 billion posting an increase of Rs. 17.24 billion or 4% as against the previous year’s performance.

In US $ terms, export revenue for 2023 was $ 1.31 billion compared with $ 1.26 billion in 2022.

Despite the financial success, the volume of tea exported in 2023 witnessed a decline of 3.3%, totalling 241.9 million kilos. 

This marked a decrease of 8.26 million kilos compared to the 250.2 million kilos shipped in 2022.

In 1997, a volume of 247 million kgs was shipped and since then the annual exports have been rising, recording the highest ever quantity of 327 million kgs in 2014.

The annual FOB unit price of $ 5.41 per kg for 2023 compared with $ 5.03 per kg in 2022 confirms the distinct preference for Ceylon Tea.

Sri Lanka’s tea crop improved marginally in 2023, reflecting the struggle for recovery after detrimental policy decisions and climate change. 

The cumulative tea production for the year 2023 was 256.04 million kgs, registering an increase of 4.20 million kgs compared with 251.84 million kgs in 2022. 

Sri Lanka Tea Board said all elevations have shown positive variances in the year 2023 except the low-grown elevation in comparison with the corresponding period of 2022.

The industry was optimistic that the tea output would exceed 260 million kgs by the end of 2023 recovering from the 26-year low in 2022.

Sri Lanka’s tea export volume is directly related to production. The harvest was affected due to many shortcomings experienced since 2021, with the fertiliser crisis and the banning of herbicides being among the main contributory factors.