COLOMBO, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka is targetting 3.5 billion U.S. dollars through its tea exports by 2030 and a tea production of 350 million kg, local media quoted the Colombo Tea Traders Association as saying on Monday.
Michael de Soyza, former chairman of the Colombo Tea Traders' Association (CTTA), speaking at the 125th anniversary of the Tea Industry Association held in capital Colombo said tea experts in the island had begun an initiative to increase tea exports and production as production had remained the same over the past several years.
Official statistics from the government showed that Sri Lanka's tea production has remained at around 300 million kg over the past two decades, with a peak of 340 million kg in 2013, as the country's tea growing land has remained unchanged.
Tea production in 2018 was 303.8 million kg, down from 307.1 million kg from a year earlier.
Former Chairman of the Colombo Brokers' Association, Anil Cooke, speaking at the event said that the 2030 program will create strategic pathways for the future of Sri Lanka's tea industry.
The Sri Lankan government last week said Sri Lanka's tea exports in the first half of this year has reached a record high of 121.8 billion rupees (682 million U.S. dollars), up 7 percent from the same period a year earlier.