Sri Lanka expects tea production to recover in 2023 to 300 million kilograms after output fell to 250 million kilograms in 2022 with the banning of fertilizer and agro-chemicals.
With the current conditions and the crop lost due to fertilizer issue and everything the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) expects around 250 million kilograms of tea by the end of 2022
This forecast released via a statement by SLTB is based on the performance of the tea industry up to the first 11 months of this year.
In its statement, SLTB said the year 2022 began with a lot of optimism. Monthly auction average prices continuously increased and more sharply from April.
However, as anticipated, the crop shortfall was inevitable due to the fertilizer crisis. As the year progressed, the Sri Lankan tea industry faced numerous challenges.
Subsequent to the banning of chemical fertilizer by the Government of Sri Lanka in 2021, tea growers and large plantations, in particular, were forced to only use organic fertilizer which too was not adequately available resulting in a negative impact on the Tea production.
A drop of 17% compared to the previous year has been recorded up to end-November 2022.
With the Government’s decision to allow a more generous policy on fertilizer, all expectations are that the country’s tea production in 2023 would improve to at least 290 -300 million kgs.
Expectation of an increase in production next year is however subject to the weather conditions remaining conducive for growth throughout the year 2023. Ageing tea bushes and low productivity levels could also act as a downside.
Made tea production for the year up to end-November was 231.87 million kgs. This is significantly lower compared to 278.96 million kgs recorded for the same period in 2021. It is also lower than 250.19 million kgs produced during the corresponding period in 2020.
Out of the total production for 2022, the Smallholder sector output was 174.71 million kgs (75%) while the RPC sector accounted for 75.8 million kgs (33%). Both sectors recorded decreased outputs with the greatest decline of 20% being registered from the RPC sector. The production shortfall in the small holding sector was 16%.
During the period under review, a total of 5.57 million kgs of tea was imported which account for 2.4% of the production and export volumes.
