The National Sales Average (NSA) of tea declined in June, but increased marginally during the first half of 2026, according to Forbes and Walker Research.
The NSA for the month was Rs. 1,153.49 ($ 3.45), down Rs. 31.07 and $ 0.20 from May’s average of Rs. 1,184.56 ($ 3.65).
June…
Compared with June 2025, however, the NSA increased by Rs. 50.22 from Rs. 1,103.27, although the US dollar equivalent declined by $ 0.23 year-on-year (YoY) from $ 3.68.
The cumulative NSA for the first six months of 2026 stood at Rs. 1,162.09 ($ 3.66), representing a marginal increase of Rs. 3.55 over the Rs. 1,158.54 recorded during the corresponding period in 2025. However, the dollar-denominated average declined by $ 0.23 from $ 3.89.
Among the elevation categories, Forbes and Walker Research said the High Grown average recorded the sharpest month-on-month decline, falling Rs. 64.64 and $ 0.29. Compared with June 2025, High Grown teas posted a gain of Rs. 52.40, although the dollar average declined by $ 0.19.
The Medium Grown category recorded a month-on-month decline of Rs. 53.74 and $ 0.25, while compared with the corresponding month last year, the average fell by Rs. 29.82 and $ 0.43.
The Low Grown average declined by Rs. 12.61 and $ 0.15 compared with May 2026. However, against June 2025, Low Grown teas registered a positive variance of Rs. 72.02, despite the US Dollar average declining by $ 0.19.
On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, only the High Grown elevation recorded a positive variance in Sri Lankan rupee terms, while the Medium and Low Grown categories posted negative variances in both rupee and US dollar terms.