Negative policies hurt Ceylon Tea earnings
There is no glyphosate, no fungicide and no fertiliser in the Sri Lankan market and buyers of Ceylon tea are now taking stock of the situation to move out as quantities at the auctions continue to drop.
“Buyers will source their teas from elsewhere when their continuous supply of quality teas is not available from Sri Lanka,” Planters Association Spokesman Dr. Roshan Rajadurai told the Business Times.
He noted that their repeated requests from the government have not borne fruit and in fact he pointed out that they have still not overcome the first glyphosate ban imposed in 2018 and now again. “We have spoken to all responsible people and beyond.”
The crisis on the plantations has been further compounded with the shortage of fuel for transporting stocks of tea as the number of vehicles are now restricted; it has also impacted transport of leaf to the factories causing a drop in quality, he said. In addition the cost of transport has also increased, adding to the cost of production.
Dr. Rajadurai asserted, “What we are requesting, the authorities, is to permit the plantation industry to use the FAO approved chemicals according to their recommendation in line with the maximum residue level.”
Exporting 95 per cent of the quantity produced in Sri Lanka is what is bringing in the dollars and the stops imposed by the authorities on the production of this money spinner are beyond anyone’s comprehension. “The government should support to bring in the dollars,” he said.
“This tragic situation is brought upon ourselves,” Dr. Rajadurai noted adding that there is a 40-50 per cent price increase of other inputs as a result of which the cost of production had gone up by 20 per cent.
Countries like Japan that are sensitive to these crises will slowly move away from here when they know there is no fuel and no petrol and that ‘we’ don’t have fertilser and the quantities are reducing, he said.
It is learnt that the Japanese are very concerned and that they have been talking to their suppliers whether they should look for alternatives.
Asia Siyaka Brokers CEO Anil Cooke told the Business Times that Russian buyers are likely to renegotiate prices with their Sri Lankan exporters as a result of the sharp depreciation of the Russian Rouble.
He noted that the biggest issue is the next three applications of fertilisers as Sri Lanka is currently witnessing a drop in quantities that is a reflection of the absence of fertilizer since last year.
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