Tea exporters hail Govt. move to suspend marketing levy for 6 months

Tea exporters yesterday welcomed the Government decision to suspend tea marketing and promotion levy for six months.

“The removal is a big relief to exporters and will give strength to buy more tea and create more demand at the auction. This will help boost prices at the auction,” Tea Exporters Association (TEA) Immediate Past Chairman Jayantha Karunaratne who is also the Chairman of Ceylon Tea Traders Association (CTTA) told the Daily FT.

Plantation Industries Minister and Co- Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Ramesh Pathirana yesterday said that the Cabinet has decided to suspend the tea promotion and marketing tax of Rs. 3.50 per kilogram of tea, which will be suspended for six months.

“The industry saw an escalation in the cost of operation from the second half of March. Particularly, tea exporters had additional cost locally, payment delays and late payments from overseas customers as well. Therefore, the short-financial relief to the industry is welcome,” TEA said. (CdeS)