Sri Lanka earned US$1.43 billion from tea exports in 2024, up more than 9 percent year-on-year, state media reported on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka exported 245.79 million kilos of tea in 2024, compared to 241.91 million kilos in 2023, state media reported, adding that on average, tea exported in 2024 earned US$5.84 per kilo.

Tea is a major foreign income earner for Sri Lanka. According to local reports, Iraq was the leading importer of Sri Lanka’s tea, followed by Russia and the United Arab Emirates.