Sri Lanka’s tea production recorded a year-on-year decline in August 2026, with weaker output from the high- and medium-grown sectors more than offsetting gains in low-grown tea.
According to industry data compiled by Forbes and Walker Research, total tea production stood at 19.00 million kilogrammes in August, down from 19.72 million kilogrammes recorded during the same month in 2025. This represents a decrease of approximately 720,000 kilogrammes, or 3.7 percent.
The high-grown sector experienced the sharpest decline, with production falling 16.2 percent to 3.02 million kilogrammes. Medium-grown tea production also dropped 14.8 percent to 2.70 million kilogrammes.
In contrast, low-grown tea production increased 2.6 percent to 13.09 million kilogrammes, accounting for almost 69 percent of total production during the month. Green tea output also recorded a marginal 0.2 percent increase, reaching 184,634 kilogrammes.
Compared with August 2024, overall production was approximately 11 percent lower, declining by 2.34 million kilogrammes from 21.34 million kilogrammes.
January–August Performance
During the first eight months of 2026, Sri Lanka produced 172.21 million kilogrammes of tea, compared with 176.98 million kilogrammes during the corresponding period in 2025. This represents a 2.7 percent decline.
The decline was largely linked to lower production in the low- and medium-grown sectors. Low-grown tea output decreased by 2.99 million kilogrammes, or 2.8 percent, to 103.37 million kilogrammes, while medium-grown production fell 6.2 percent to 29.75 million kilogrammes.
High-grown tea production, however, remained relatively stable, increasing marginally by 0.1 percent to 37.35 million kilogrammes. Green tea recorded stronger growth, rising 8.2 percent to 1.74 million kilogrammes.
Despite the decline compared with 2025, cumulative production for the first eight months of 2026 was only 0.2 percent below the level recorded during the same period in 2024. High-grown and green tea production remained above their 2024 levels, while low- and medium-grown tea production continued to remain below those levels.
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