Sri Lanka’s revenue from tea exports increase in the first seven months of the year
Revenue from tea exports in Sri Lanka have reportedly increased by Rs. 7.6 billion in the first seven months of the year, reaching Rs. 141.4 billion, compared to Rs. 133.8 billion earned during the same period in 2018, tea brokers have been quoted as saying.
Sri Lanka’s exports for the month of July had totalled 24.8 M/kgs vis-à-vis 25.2 M/kgs of July 2018, showing a decrease of 0.4 M/kgs, the local media has reported.
Reports further state that packeted tea, together with tea bags have shown a gain year-on-year, whilst bulk tea shows a decrease, Forbes and Walker said in their weekly tea report.
However, total revenue for the month of July 2019 of Rs. 19.5 billion showed a decrease of Rs. 0.4 billion, vis-à-vis Rs. 19.9 billion of July 2018. Consequently, the FOB value for July 2019 of Rs. 786.93 decreased Rs. 4.47 when compared to Rs. 791.40 of July 2018.
Nevertheless, when analysing January-July 2019, exports of 170.0 M/kgs shows a growth of 7.3 M/kgs vis-à-vis 162.7 M/kgs of January-July 2018, the Daily FT has reported.
On a cumulative basis, all main categories of exports (i.e. tea bags, packeted tea and bulk tea) have shown a gain compared to the corresponding period of 2018, report have noted.
Meanwhile, revenue of Rs. 141.4 billion realised for January-July 2019 shows a gain of Rs. 7.6 billion vis-à-vis Rs. 133.8 billion of January-July 2018, resulting in the FOB value for the period January-June 2019 of Rs. 831.77, gaining Rs. 9.33 vis-à-vis Rs. 822.44 of January-July 2018, the report has added.
Iraq continues to be the largest importer of Sri Lankan Tea, closely followed by Turkey and Russia. Meanwhile, Iran is placed fourth.
Other noteworthy importers have been noted as Libya, China, and Azerbaijan.
It is also relevant to note that destinations such as India, USA, and Germany have shown a fairly significant increase in imports during the period under review.
According to the media report, tea production for the month of July 2019 totalled 25.2 M/kgs vis-à-vis 23.9 M/kgs of 2018, showing a gain of 1.3 M/kgs year-on-year. Also, it is relevant to note that High Growns have shown the highest growth followed by Medium Growns, whilst Low Growns show a marginal decrease compared to the corresponding month of 2018.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tea sector has been on a continuous growth path that has been revealed through official statistics. The government of Sri Lanka has introduced many incentives to uplift and develop the country’s tea industry. Also, authorities have planned a massive global promotional campaign to further boost the country’s tea sector. The campaign is to be launched next month. Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s tea exports have shown an impressive growth that has received a further boost by the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country. Foreign businesses/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tea industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/28082019/Z_2 |