Sri Lanka’s tea exports show positive signs in February
The Morning: Tea Exports for the month of February totalled 22.31 M/kg, showing a positive variance of 3.76 M/kg vis-à-vis 18.55 M/kg of February 2023. All categories except for Tea Packets and Green Tea have shown improvements in comparison with the corresponding month of the previous year.
F.O.B value in February was recorded at Rs.1,789.43, a decline of Rs. 250.82 y-o-y compared to Rs. 2,040.25 of February 2023. All categories have witnessed negative variances in SLR term and positive variances in USD terms expect for the Instant tea segment
January-February 2024 cumulative exports totalled 41.08 M/kg, showing an increase of 4.97 M/kg vis-à-vis 36.11 M/kg of January-February 2023. All categories except for tea packets continue to show steady growth against the same period of the previous year.
Iraq has been ranked at No. 1 amongst major importers of Ceylon Tea with a total of 5.30 M/kg, an increase of 14% y-o-y in January-February 2024 against the previous year’s 4.66 M/kg. UAE (4.98 M/kg) and Russia (4.52 M/kg) emerged at second and third positions respectively, surpassing Türkiye who recorded a decline of 38% against the corresponding period of the previous year.
Other notable importer countries are Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany, Azerbaijan and Chile.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tea industry is on a steady growth path with the industry looking at regaining the top slot enjoyed previously by ‘Ceylon Tea’ in the international market. The Sri Lankan government has also taken measures to further uplift and develop the local tea industry that includes the offering of incentive packages to businesses engaged in the industry. Local export authorities meanwhile are carrying out promotional campaigns in foreign markets to promote Sri Lankan tea and related products. The authorities are also encouraging local tea producers to diversify and expand their existing product portfolio to meet the growing international demand. On the other hand, the many trade agreements and trade concessions enjoyed by Sri Lanka with other countries and the exploration of new trade agreements with more countries will also expand the already increasing opportunities in the tea industry. Given the growth and business potential in Sri Lanka’s tea industry, foreign businesses/investors could explore the expanding opportunities in the industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20240401/Z_4 |