Sri Lanky tea production fell 14.4 percent in January from a year, the Sri Lanka Tea Board said on Friday, blaming a strike in December and bad weather for the drop. Tea output fell to 21.30 million kg from 24.89 million kg in January 2006.
"The strike was the main reason and partly also the slight drought," Lalith Hettiarachchi, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board, said. He said it would take two months to get normal production after the wage strike by the bulk of the island's 400,000 tea estate workers in December. However, Hettiarachchi forecast tea output would total around 310 million kg in 2007, in line with 310.8 million kg harvested last year.
Tea production fell 8.5 percent in December from a year to 21.5 million kg. Sri Lanka record 2005 harvest of 317.2 million kg made it the world's number-four producer behind China, India and Kenya and second only in exports to Kenya. Tea is one of Sri Lanka's main foreign currency revenue earners along with remittances, tourism and textiles. Tea brought in more than $600 million last year, while tourism raked in around $450 million.
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