Turkey drives Ceylon Tea exports in May

The tea exports recovered in May after months of subdued performance, lifted by a stronger demand from key overseas markets, led by Turkey. 

However, the cumulative shipments for the year continued to lag behind the 2025 levels, amid the tighter supply conditions.

The tea exports expanded 7.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 23.51 million kilogrammes in May, up from 21.87 million kilogrammes a year earlier. The gains were recorded across all major categories, except green tea, according to the data compiled by Forbes & Walker Research, based on the Sri Lanka Customs statistics.

The increase was largely driven by the higher shipments of bulk tea, packeted tea and tea bags, suggesting continued resilience in demand for Ceylon Tea, despite the economic uncertainties in several destination markets.  

Total exports during the first five months of 2026 fell to 101.85 million kilogrammes, down 1.43 million kilogrammes from the corresponding period last year, with bulk tea and packeted tea continuing to record declines on a cumulative basis.

While the export demand remains relatively firm, the supply constraints continue to weigh on the volumes. 

Sri Lanka’s tea production has remained below the year-ago levels in recent months, limiting the industry’s ability to fully capitalise on the overseas demand.

The average FOB value in May slipped to Rs.1,800.70 per kilogramme, from Rs.1,804.31 a year earlier, while the dollar-denominated FOB value declined to US $ 5.54, from US $ 6.03, reflecting softer returns when measured against a stronger rupee.

However, for the January-May period, the average rupee-denominated FOB value increased to Rs.1,797.58 per kilogramme, from Rs.1,756.46 a year earlier, indicating that the exporters continued to secure higher prices in local currency terms, despite the lower dollar returns.

Turkey further strengthened its position as Sri Lanka’s largest tea buyer, importing 14.95 million kilogrammes during the first five months of the year, a sharp increase from the same period in 2025. 

The market overtook the traditional heavyweight Iraq, where the imports fell 18 percent YoY to 11.82 million kilogrammes. Russia remained the third-largest destination, followed by Azerbaijan and China.