Sri Lanka February tea output falls

Mar 22, 2012 (LBO) - Tea production in Sri Lanka in February 2012 fell compared with last year with much of the fall coming from low grown types harvested by small farmers, according to the Tea Board.







Low grown teas are produced mainly by small holders who have been hit hard by lower demand from the Middle East, a key market, owing to political turmoil there.

However, tea production in the January - February 2012 period was up 4.7 percent to 45.3 million kilos compared with last year.

In February 2012, total tea production fell 0.

6 percent to 21.98 million kilos from a year ago, Tea Board statistics showed.

Output of high grown varieties of tea was up 0.

7 percent to 5.1 million kilos in February and production of those grown at medium elevations was also up.

But low growns fell 8.3 percent to 12.9 million kilos in February 2012 from the year before.