Sri Lanka's tea production and exports both ran behind 2025 for the first five months of 2026, according to figures published by the Tea Exporters Association of Sri Lanka (TEA).

Production from January through May totaled 108.95 million kilograms, down 5.11 million kilograms from the same period last year. Exports over the same five months totaled 101.85 million kilograms, a decline of 1.43 million kilograms. May alone brought production of 24.91 million kilograms, down slightly from 25.43 million kilograms a year earlier, with the High Grown, Medium Grown, and Green Tea segments all recording declines while Low Grown output rose.

The shortfall follows a difficult 2025 for Ceylon tea. W.L.P. Wijewardene, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board, told The Morning in February that the sector had lost nearly a million kilograms to Cyclone Ditwah and cited rising input costs, delays in replanting, and labor shortages as further drags on output. Wijewardene had projected 10% to 12% growth in 2026, targeting an annual crop of 300 million kilograms, contingent on favorable weather.

Exports have not fallen evenly across markets. Türkiye imported 14.95 million kilograms of Ceylon tea in May, a 159% increase from 11.52 million kilograms a year earlier, making it the largest single buyer of Sri Lankan tea that month and displacing Iraq, whose purchases fell 18% to 11.82 million kilograms. Russia took 9.84 million kilograms, up 8%, and Azerbaijan's purchases rose 69% to 5.36 million kilograms. China's imports fell 4% to 4.05 million kilograms.

By category, exports of bulk tea, packeted tea, tea bags, and instant tea all posted gains for the month, according to TEA's figures; only green tea exports declined. The mix points to demand holding up or improving in several finished-product categories even as total volume for the year to date runs behind 2025.

Sources: Tea Exporters Association of Sri Lanka, Market Reports; The Morning, Sri Lanka's tea production expected to grow despite challenges.