Sri Lanka tea meets Saudi Food and Drug Authority specifications

From left: Nishanta Jayatilake, Dr. Sarath Abeysinghe and Hasitha De Alwis at the press briefing in Riyadh – Arab News

Sri Lankan tea fulfils the specifications of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), a visiting island official, who was leading a delegation to the capital, said here last week.

Addressing a press conference, Hasitha De Alwis, director of international promotions at the Sri Lanka Tea Board, told media that the SFDA told the visiting delegation that Sri Lankan tea is of high quality and it meets the specifications of both the SFDA and the Gulf Standards Organization. 

The delegation met with the senior officials of the SFDA here on Tuesday. He said that the Kingdom imports some 36,000 metric tons of tea, which includes 5,000 tons from Sri Lanka. The major share of the Kingdom’s tea requirements are supplied by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through its Jebel Ali Free Zone, he added. The other members of the delegation included Sri Lanka Tea Board Director for Analytical Services Nishanta Jayatilake and Tea Research Institute in Colombo Director Dr. Sarath Abeysinghe.

Sri Lanka’s major tea market includes Russia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and now China is an emerging market, he noted. 

Sri Lankan tea, known for generations as Ceylon Tea, carries behind it a heritage and success story like no other. A product that began as a diversification experiment in 1867, spanning just 19 acres of land, has today surpassed all geographical borders to satisfy 19% of global demand. Reputed for its tea’s signature taste and aroma, Sri Lanka has become the world’s third largest tea exporter to the world, the country’s largest employer, and has the distinction of supplying tea to the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.

Ceylon Tea is also the cleanest tea in the world in terms of pesticide residues, a fact confirmed by the ISO technical committee. Sri Lanka was also the first to achieve the ‘Ozone Friendly Tea’ label recognised under the Montreal Protocol Treaty and is the proud owner of the first Ethical Tea Brand of the World recognised by the United Nations Global Compact.

Far from being just a scenic wonder, the panoramic tea gardens of Sri Lanka provide a countless number of blends and single garden teas of premium value. Most are situated at elevations between 3,000 and 8,000 feet, which span the lush mountains of the central highlands and the fertile plains of the southern inland areas of the island. Sri Lankan tea possesses unique and specific characteristics of quality and taste attributed to geographical origin and unique manufacturing practices.

Tourists and export markets alike have access to famous unorthodox variants and health beverages from Sri Lanka such as green tea, instant tea, bio tea and flavoured tea.

With the development of Sri Lankan tea exports, Green Tea has acquired a commanding position in the global market. Currently, Sri Lanka exports Green Tea to more than 40 countries. The major buyers are United Arab Emirates, the Russian Federation and Jordan.(Source: Arab News)