COLOMBO - SRI Lanka, one of the world's biggest tea growers, saw export volumes slide by 17 per cent in the five months to May due to a drought-damaged crop, the state-run Sri Lanka Tea Board said on Friday.

Tea is the South Asian island nation's biggest foreign exchange earner after garments and is a vital source of revenue as it recovers from nearly four decades of war with ethnic Tamil Tiger rebels.

Exports were down to 107.8 million kilogrammes (237.2 million pounds) from January to May, with earnings of US$384.61 million (S$558.6 million), compared to US$444.9 million over the same period in 2008.

'A severe drought in the first quarter of this year reduced our crop output. We had less teas to export,' Tea Board chief Lalith Hettiarachchi told AFP.

Russia and former Soviet republics are the biggest buyers of Sri Lankan teas.

Sri Lanka's chief rivals in the tea export market are Kenya and India.

Its export earnings hit a record US$1.23 billion in 2008, up from US$1.02 billion in 2007. -- AFP