Agriculture sector sees “significant decline” in first quarter
The Department of Census and Statistics has revealed that there has
been a significant decline in the agriculture sector in first quarter of
this year.The department says that significant decline has been seen in tea, rubber, paddy and minor export crops.
The department states that the tea cultivating districts of Ratnapura, Kalutara, Galle and Matara have shown a 10 percent decrease in tea production due to drought conditions that prevailed.
They also stated that rubber production showed a decrease due to a fall in demand for rubber products in the world market.
Minor export crop production saw a decrease of 3.1 percent in the first quarter of this year.
The Department of Census and Statistics added that there had been decrease of 15.7 percent in paddy production in this timeframe.
However, the department has also stated that coconut cultivation has increased by 6.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the 7.4 percent decrease in the first quarter of last year.
