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COLOMBO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka exported a record 11.8 million kg of tea to China in 2019, local media citing leading tea broker Asia Siyaka Commodities reported on Friday.

Sri Lanka's tea exports to China last year were the highest volume in the country's history and doubled the 5.3 million kg exported to China just five years earlier, Asia Siyaka Commodities said.

In 2018, Sri Lankan tea accounted for 29 percent of China's 35 million kg of tea imports.

China is among the top 10 export destinations for Sri Lankan tea while Turkey, Iraq and Russia remain the top importers of Sri Lankan tea.

Asia Siyaka Commodities noted that low oil prices and political instability have disrupted demand in the Middle East and North Africa which accounts for 52 percent of Sri Lankan tea exports.