Sri Lankan tea output down 7.3pc

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka´s tea output fell 7.3 percent in July from a year earlier, the state-run Tea Board said on Monday, and brokers attributed the fall to adverse weather conditions.

"There was excessive rain and overcast conditions, specially at higher elevations, resulting in lower high-grown crop due to excess rain. Other areas were also hit by adverse weather," Anil Cooke of brokers Forbes & Walker said. "But now excess rain conditions are easing, and we expect a better crop in the rest of the year." Production in the first seven months has risen 0.2 percent from the same period last year.