Hayleys Plantations bags top 10 ranks at tea auction for Western High Grown Tea

Pedro Tea Factory 

The tea estates of Sri Lanka’s leading plantations company, Hayleys Plantations achieved another unprecedented milestone after the company’s estates secured all of the Top 10 positions for highest Gross Sales Average (GSA) at the auction for Western High Grown Tea in September. 

Six estates of Talawakelle Tea Estates (TTEL), three estates of Kelani Valley Plantations (KVPL) and one estate of Horana Plantations (HPL) made up the Top 10 estates in September, marking another first in the industry by a plantations company. 

“Hayley Plantations strives to always deliver the very best in quality. This is accomplished through an unwavering commitment to excellence across every single aspect of production. This includes ensuring best practices in environmental, agricultural and factory management are maintained, as well as an unmatched commitment to empowering our workers so that they are in turn motivated and enthusiastic to put their best foot forward. 

Especially in recent months, we have seen stiff competition domestically, with some really great varieties of tea being produced from all sectors of our industry. Therefore, it is indeed a true honour to be consistently recognised and rewarded for our quality, which was possible due to the dedication of the staff to craft some of the finest tea that Sri Lanka has to offer,” Hayleys Plantations Managing Director Dr. Roshan Rajadurai said.

Notably, the Hayleys Plantations estates have occupied nine of the Top 10 rankings from January through September, in addition to bagging the 11th slot. Five other estates of the company also occupied slots in the next 10, solidifying the rankings by occupying 15 of the Top 20 rankings through the year. 

Ranked by the Ceylon Tea Traders Association each month, the sales performances recorded at the auction offer vital insights into the quality produce offered by each estate towards export markets. Estates achieving the highest prices at the auction are ranked each month, along with cumulative and annual rankings also being compiled at the end of each year. 

In 2019, the Hayleys Plantations’ estates occupied 11 slots in the Top 20 rankings, with five occupying positions in the Top 10. In 2018, 12 of the 15 Top slots were occupied by the company estates. Hayleys Plantations are renowned for producing the finest quality Ceylon tea, with the company’s estates dominating the Top 20 rankings over the last few years. In fact, the Mattakelle Estate of Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC was ranked number one in the Western High Grown rankings nine times in the last 11 years. 

The Hayleys Plantations Sector is comprised of KVPL, TTEL and HPL, with all three companies having consistently maintained top ranks among Sri Lanka’s regional plantation companies in rubber and tea respectively. The sector manages 60 tea and rubber estates, and over 26,137 hectares of land while accounting for 4.5% and 2.5% of Sri Lanka’s tea and rubber production respectively.

Notably, TTEL is Sri Lanka’s first plantations company to secure the ISO 50001:2018 for Energy Management System, ISO 14064:2018 for Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Inventory Verification and ISO 14001:2015 for Environment Management Systems (EMS). Similarly, KVPL is also renowned for having become the first company to secure the Organic Rubber Certification. 

Somerset Tea Factory