Despite a year-on-year downturn in April’s figures, tea production here is expected to set new records this season.

The Sri Lanka Tea Board Tea reports production of 28.5 million kgs in April, a 5.6% reduction compared to April of last year, noting that in 2010 a combination of high prices and good weather sustained output.

The decline was noted mainly in tea produced at low and medium elevations. More than one million kg was lost in low grown teas, responsible for half the crop,  according to Tea Board records. But high grown teas, mostly produced by regional plantations corporations, posted a year-on-year increase.

Overall, the 106.3 miullion kg of tea produced in Sri Lanka in the first four months of the year represents a 2% increase over 2010’s 104.2 million kg. The Tea Board believes production could peak at a record high in 2011, eclipsing last year’s 329.4 million kg.

The anticipated strength of the crop this year was due in part to good weather, strong demand from international buyers and the crop-wide extension of government fertilizer subsidies, according to industry observers.