Sri Lanka’s tea sector says cyclone impact contained
Sri Lanka’s tea industry expects to maintain the production and export flows, despite the transport disruptions caused by Cyclone Ditwah, the Colombo Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) said, adding that the sector’s “remarkable capacity to overcome adversity” has allowed the operations to stabilise quickly.The CTTA, the apex private-sector body representing the plantation companies, factory owners, exporters, brokers and smallholder groups, said the industry has once again rallied collectively. “The tea industry has, time and again, demonstrated its remarkable capacity to overcome adversity, with all stakeholders uniting collectively to address and resolve challenges,” it said in a statement.The damage in the tea-growing areas of Uva and the Central province was limited to access roads, slowing the movement of green leaf and finished tea.“While some tea-growing areas in Uva and the Central province experienced some impact, there has been no loss of manufacturing capacity. The damage was largely confined to specific roads, resulting in temporary disruptions to transportation. Some of the key routes connecting the plantations to the city have now been reopened and transport services are resuming normal operations,” the CTTA said. Colombo’s tea auction, central to weekly liquidity for producers, will proceed under a revised schedule. The auction, originally planned for early December, has been shifted to the last week of the month. “This adjustment ensures uninterrupted financial flows to the producers, including smallholders, maintaining the momentum of the industry,” the CTTA said.Flooding from the rising Kelani River affected a limited number of exporters’ offices and warehouses, with some machinery, including tea-bagging equipment, sustaining damage. The association said the exporters “are working tirelessly to restore the damaged machinery” and remain “fully equipped to serve the overseas clients without interruptions and assure timely delivery as usual”.The tea output for the first 10 months of 2025 reached 220.97 million kilogrammes, up 3.3 million kilogrammes from a year earlier and exceeding the 2023 levels, according to the CTTA data.Reaffirming confidence in the sector’s ability to navigate the latest disruption, the association said, “Sri Lankan tea industry has consistently demonstrated its resilience in the face of adversities. Together we are all united in our commitment to supply ‘Ceylon Tea’ globally and remain optimistic about the future.”The CTTA added that it would continue working with the government agencies “to speedily resolve any issues in a collaborative approach”.
