Tea exports from Sri Lanka have dropped to their lowest level in 23 years.
Tea is the biggest export commodity, realizing about US$1.3 billion annually before the current economic downturn.
A ban on fertilizer imports last year hit growers hard:production fell by 18 percent year-on-year for November last year to February 2022.
First-quarter exports this year fell to 63.7 million kilograms, compared to 69.8 million kilograms last year.
This was the lowest since the first quarter of 1999, when the country exported 60.3 million kilograms of tea.
Export earnings for the first quarter also declined.