• Tea factory owners blame fertiliser issues for decline
• Say production plummeted by 60-70% in first 10 days of January
• Note owners unable to invest in fertiliser due to other expenses 

Sri Lanka’s tea industry is facing a continuing drop in tea production, as small tea estate owners are not investing in fertiliser, while the quality of tea leaves has dropped by over 70% due to the lack of fertiliser, said the Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners’ Association (SLTFOA).

Speaking at a press conference held yesterday (11), SLTFOA Director Weththinge Jinadasa said that although many of the factories were developed in an effort to increase production in the past few years on low-interest credit facilities, tea production has dropped due to the shortage of fertiliser.

He claimed that tea production dropped by about 20% in 2022, while in the first 10 days of January 2023, production dropped by 60-70% due to the lack of fertiliser.

It was revealed that the small tea estate owners are not investing in fertiliser, as they are directing their revenue towards other expenses.

According to the statistics of the Ceylon Tea Board, tea production between January and November 2022 fell to 231 million kg from 278 million kg in the corresponding period of 2021. However, the tea industry recorded an export revenue of $ 1.4 billion in 2022 compared to $ 638 million in 2021 with the increase in prices – the price of tea was recorded at $ 4.04 per kg in December 2022, compared to $ 3.19 per kg a year ago.

Tea estate owners are unable to use the urea fertiliser supplied by the Government at Rs. 10,000 per bag, as a special urea-based fertiliser is used in the tea industry.

Tea factory owners have decided to supply bags of urea-based fertiliser to small tea estate owners at Rs. 17,000 per bag through the tea factories, instead of the market price of Rs. 30,000 per bag, after coming to an agreement with fertiliser producers.

Accordingly, factory owners have decided to supply the fertiliser to small tea estate owners on a three-month credit basis without any additional charge.