Govt. to closely monitor tea crops for next few months: Plantations Minister

PLANTATION Industries Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana earlier this week said tea production is at a satisfactory level but that the Government would closely monitor the situation in September and October – months which, historically, have reported declines due to climatic shifts.

“in July, we produced 26 million kilograms of tea, which is higher than the average production recorded in the same period last year. There is no drop in tea production,”he said, responding to a question posed at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing.

However, the Minister said they would monitor the production in September and October as these two months historically have a low production due to the dry climate experienced in the country.

Dr. Pathirana also said that in the first six months, Sri Lanka produced 162 million kilograms of tea – which is above the average.

“We had good climate conditions and had a decent amount of fertiliser to be distributed among the producers,”he said.

Dr. Pathirana said the Government was exploring alternative ways to produce organic fertiliser while importing certain nutrients required for the tea production as well as for the agriculture sector.

Emphasising that Sri Lanka’s tea was the most expensive in the world, he said a kilogram was sold at around $ 4-4.5 – higher than Kenyan and indian produced tea.

However, contrary to the Minister’s comments, the tea crop in July declined marginally year-on-year by 0.3 million kg to 26.16 million kg. High and Low elevations have shown a decline, while the Medium Growns recorded a marginal gain over the corresponding month in 2020. The first seven months’crop amounted to 187.78 million kg, up 31 million kg from the corresponding period of last year. All elevations have shown substantial gains, with the Low Growns in particular gaining 22% over the corresponding period in 2020.