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COLOMBO, July 21 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan tea production rose 16.2 percent in June compared with a year earlier, the Sri Lanka Tea Board said on Monday, as the industry recovered from a labour dispute that hindered production early last year.
Tea output rose to 27.31 million kg from 23.49 million kg in June 2007.
"We had a lower output last year, compared to normal June production, due to the labour dispute," said H.D. Hemarathna, director general of the Sri Lanka Tea Board.
"The labour dispute caused a disruption in regular fertiliser application, pruning and other daily maintenance activities of the crop last year, which we didn't have this year."
Output in the January to June period rose 19.3 percent to 171.33 million kg from 143.63 million kg a year earlier, due to a low base in 2007 caused by the effects of the strike.
Last year, output fell 2 percent to 304.6 million kg from 310.8 million in 2006. Officials blamed inadequate fertiliser use due to high prices, unfavourable weather and the fallout from the industry strike.
The industry export revenue rose 42.6 percent to $507.1 million in the January to May period in 2008, central bank data showed. Tea Board officials cited high production and better global tea prices as reasons for increased revenue.
Tea export revenues surpassed $1 billion in 2007 despite the fall in output, thanks to a rise in global tea prices.
Sri Lanka Tea Board had expected to boost foreign earnings from the country's main agricultural export by 20 percent and production to 320 million kg in 2008.
Sri Lanka exported 309.8 million kg of tea last year, including re-exports of 15.6 million kg in imports that tea companies had purchased from overseas to meet client orders.
Bulk tea accounted for nearly 60 percent of exports.
Sri Lanka's record 2005 harvest of 317.2 million kg made it the world's fourth-biggest producer behind China, India and Kenya and second only in exports to Kenya in that year.
Tea is one of Sri Lanka's main foreign currency revenue earners, after remittances and earnings from textiles and garments.
The following table shows Sri Lanka's tea output (in kg):
2008 2007 2008 2007 Gr 6,617,070 6,284,989 42,484,503 36,850,090 High Gr 5,234,848 4,399,341 30,299,899 25,918,735 Medium Gr 15,458,907 12,810,371 98,546,086 80,865,706 Low 27,310,825 23,494,701 171,330,488 143,634,531 Total ($1=107.865 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Ben Tan)
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