Govt. to extend tea promotion financial support to private brands

The Government has decided to expand the Ceylon Tea Global Promotion Program offering financial support to include private brands as well.

A decision to this effect was made by the Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting on Tuesday.

The scheme for financial assistance for Brand Promotion of Ceylon Tea Brands which carry the Lion logo, by providing matching grants, has been in existence since 2015. The scheme provides a 50% adjustment grant on the cost incurred to promote the Pure Ceylon Tea brand with the Lion logo owned by Sri Lankans and registered with the National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO).

Under the program, 20 companies benefited during 2015/2016 and 18 during 2018/2019.

The Government said that Plantation Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana had proposed that a program was needed to promote private brands in parallel with the Ceylon Tea Global Promotion Program to achieve better results.

In view of this, the Cabinet approved the decision to further expand the Brand Promotion Scheme during the year 2021/2022 to include ‘Ceylon Tea Shops and Houses under the Global Promotion Program. It is currently implemented in 12 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Japan, the US, Australia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China, UAE, Iran, Chile and Germany. The aim of the campaign is to further strengthen the brand visibility for Pure Ceylon Tea, while providing support to Sri Lanka’s own brands to reinforce themselves solidly in the key markets.

According to published data by the Sri Lanka Tea Board, the brand promotion subsidy scheme for 2015/16 extended till 30 June 2017 had seen Rs. 177.3 million reimbursed to 10 companies.

Tea exports in the first half of 2021 had increased by 14% to $ 650.5 million from a year earlier.

The Tea Board is confident of the industry finishing 2021 on a positive note. 

 “The targeted export earnings of $ 1.4 billion is achievable despite challenges,” Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Jayampathy Molligoda told the Daily FT last month. 

In 2020, earnings from tea exports declined by 7.8% to $ 1.24 billion, from $ 1.34 billion in 2019.