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Thursday, September 24 2026
Thursday, September 24 2026
MONETABRIEF – Sri Lanka's tea exports to Turkey, which shares a land border with Iran, surged 143 percent by August 2026 as the Middle East war disrupted shipping routes to the region.
Sri Lanka's tea exports to Turkey rose to 30.4 million kilograms in the eight months to August 2026 up from only 12.4 million last year, data from Ceylon Tea Brokers show.
Exports to Iran fell from 8.3 million to 2.4 million kilos. Exports to Iraq also fell from 26 million to 16.4 million kilograms.
Tea exports to the UAE, a traditional trading hub from where goods are re-exported also fell 60 percent to 5 million kilograms.
Sri Lanka's Export Development Board said overall exports to Turkey rose 141 percent in August 2026 to 34.66 million US dollars.
Cumulative exports during January–August 2026 rose 99.95 percent to 187.53 million dollars, mostly made up of tea.
Total exports , including re-exports, up to August were down 8.23 percent to 166.3 million kilos, from 174.5 million kilos.
In August Sri Lanka had exported 22.8 million kilos, down 0.89 million or 3.74 percent, Ceylon Tea Brokers said.
The FOB price for August was 1,910 rupees up from 1805 after the central bank busted the rupee.
Export earnings were 949.3 million US dollars up to August 2026, down from 1,026 million dollars last year. (Colombo/Sept24/2026 - Update II)
| 3 month bill | 9.22% | 22bp ▼ |
| 12-m bill | 9.91% | 10bp ▼ |
| Gold (Ounce) | $4602 | - - |
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