SL Tea Board agrees to pay for trade fairs
View(s):Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) will introduce a scheme that will allow increased private sector participation at international tea trade fairs.
Through this scheme at least 50 per cent or a full cost of participation would be borne by the board that would help small scale tea owners to participate, Sri Lanka Tea Board Director General S. Anura
Siriwardena said.
This would be provided through the monies collected for brand promotions through which the request for the reimbursement of at least 50 per cent of private sector cost to participate at trade fairs would be ensured. This came about following a request from the private sector in this respect for some time.
The newly introduced scheme allows those tea companies in the small category to join the Tea Board pavilion for which they would receive a 100 per cent subsidy and if they require a booth they could obtain a 50 per cent subsidy, Mr. Siriwardena explained.
In this respect, reimbursements would be made at different levels and not simply for small tea companies alone either but also for the larger ones as well.
The scheme is to be was implemented following the SLTB board meeting held on March 12.
The SLTB would provide this scheme for 25 target markets like Russia and the Middle East and in new markets like the US, Korea, Latin America, Far East, Thailand, Brazil, Taipei, Japan amounting to about 35 international trade fairs.
The last trade fair in London, the International Food Event in March saw about three exporters participating under the 100 per cent subsidy from the SLTB pavilion and about seven participated on the same scheme at the fair in Japan last month as well.