Ceylon Tea looks ahead to better flavour in 2023

• Demand for quality ‘Ceylon Tea’ remains strong despite volume dip
• Fertiliser remains elusive and expensive despite repeal of bans

By Darshana Abayasingha

The tea industry is confident of a better performance next year after 2022 has proven to be the worst on record for over 25 years.

“The country aims to earn up to $1.5 billion from tea exports this year, in what is proving to be the worst on record for over 25 years. The county will export just over 200 million metric tons of its famed Ceylon Tea this year, but is confident it will cross the 300 million mark once again in 2023,” Planters Association Secretary General Lalith Obeysekera told the Daily FT.

He said that despite Sri Lanka losing ground to competitors this year, there will always be buyers for Ceylon Tea due to its superior quality, just as long as the country can produce the required quantity.

The tea industry was hit hard from the ban on chemical fertiliser with production and revenues taking a nosedive; compounded by the pandemic. 

Despite a repeal of the ban and stocks trickling in, the Association says prices have stayed at their unprecedented highs posing severe challenges to the industry especially small holders and out growers. A previous ban on glyphosate was also repealed by the government, but stocks remain elusive in a market controlled by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.

The Planters’ Association of Ceylon welcomed Seneka Alawattegama as its new Chairman. At a media conference held last week the Association highlighted the steep rise in cost of production this year, compounded by the devaluation of the currency. 

The Regional Plantation Companies under the aegis of the Planters’ Association has been canvassing for wages to be linked to productivity linked to a revenue share model, as the industry struggles to enhance productivity. The best harvesters in Sri Lanka showcase plucking averages between 30 to 40 kg a day, whilst the number is often over 60 kg a day for pluckers in markets such as India and Kenya. 

With the introduction of a productivity-based system, estates could enhance plucking averages whilst earnings for workers can grow to over Rs. 60,000 a month, the Association said.

Despite the registered workers within Regional Plantation Companies dropping to just over 150,000 from over 300,000 over the past 20 years, over one million persons within the estate community benefit from the various health and social welfare schemes managed by the companies, the Association said. 

These initiatives focus on health, childcare, nutrition and education. The industry currently runs over 450 estates and 371 factories cultivating 43.36% of tea, 23.75% of rubber and over 33% of other crops including coconuts and cinnamon. RPCs have invested over Rs. 81 billion in the industry over the past 30 years, the Association added.