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Tea Board pushes for a ‘blueprint’ for industry

15 Sep 2022

 
  • Suggests amalgamation of five-year strategy with Road Map 2030
Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Niraj De Mel, during the recently held Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Tea Exporters Association (TEA) Sri Lanka, stated that a blueprint for the tea industry has to be formulated by amalgamating the five-year tea strategy and Ceylon Tea Road Map (CTRM) 2030 in order to take the tea industry to new heights.  The theme of this year’s event, which was the first in-person AGM of the association since the pandemic, was “The Challenge of Change”. The Chief Guest at the event was Minister of Industries and Plantation Industries Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, while Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Niraj De Mel was the Guest of Honour. The keynote address, titled “The Challenge of Change for Tea”, was delivered by Sri Lankan economist, social scientist, and Erasmus University Rotterdam, International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague Senior Lecturer Prof. Howard Nicholas. Eswaran Brothers Exports Chairman Ganesh Deivanayagam was elected the new TEA Chairman for the 2022/2023 period. He succeeds Sanjaya Herath, who led the association for three years from 2019-2022. Speaking at the event, Minister Pathirana said: “Historically, Sri Lanka produced the highest quantity of tea in 2013. In recent years, China, India, and Kenya have overtaken us, so we are fourth in relation to production quantity, but Ceylon tea is still renowned as the highest quality tea. We looked at the values, and by the end of July of this year, production was less than 20 million kg than we had in 2021.  “However, our export income has not decreased, and we recorded $ 695 million in income by the end of July. We will work together and do everything possible to uplift the state of tea production and its market values.” A number of the current and future challenges to the industry were discussed at TEA’s 23rd AGM. It was noted that the industry had pivoted away from its traditional technophobic stance, having instead adapted to include technology wherever possible, including doing away with the iconic 150-year-old public tea auction in favour of a digital auctioning system, helping to overcome many challenges.  ‘’As a result of the seriously poor decision to ban chemical fertilisers, Sri Lanka’s tea crop, across all elevations, from January to July 2022 recorded a significant 18.6% decline, a shortfall of 35.07 million kg compared with the corresponding period in the previous year. This is a marginal decrease when compared against the crop figures of January to July 2020, during the height of the pandemic. In fact, this is the lowest crop on record for the comparable period since 1996,” stated outgoing TEA Chairman Sanjaya Herath.  In terms of tea export quantities too, the TEA outlined that a significant decline in exports of 9.77% was recorded from January to July 2022, when compared against the corresponding period in the year prior. Export quantities totaled 148.05 million kg for the period, which is a 14.47 million kg shortfall when compared to 2021. The TEA noted that the contraction in export volumes was almost entirely due to the crop shortfall, while exports to Russia were dampened owing to the tensions in Ukraine. Speaking at the event, new TEA Chairman Ganesh Deivanayagam said: “Our excellent primary conditions and strategic locations should optimize to enhance production and increase revenue respectively.”  In terms of nominal export revenues in Sri Lankan rupees, the industry witnessed a significant 37% growth rate for the period. However, this increase is largely attributed to the sudden depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee, which fell by about 80% against the US dollar in March 2022. Consequently, prices at auction rose quite phenomenally, with teas hitting all-time-record Sri Lankan rupee prices during the period.     


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