Tea: Fallen from grace
View(s):
It was an innocuous-looking news item on an Indian news website that drew my attention to the plight facing Sri Lanka’s tea industry.The headline read: ‘India surpasses Sri Lanka to become the second largest tea exporter.’ What has happened to Sri Lankan tea known the world over as a reputed brand and labelled as ‘Ceylon Tea’?
According to historical records, Sri Lanka became the world’s largest tea exporter in 1965, with production exceeding 200,000 metric tons annually. One report said high-altitude plantations and diverse tea varieties contributed to Sri Lanka’s reputation for quality Ceylon Tea, enhancing its global appeal.
As I pondered over the plight of a product that was once the cynosure of all eyes in the world, the home phone rang on Thursday morning. It was my friend Pedris Appo – short for Appuhamy – a retired agriculture expert who does farming. He was calling to discuss the same issue: tea.
“I say, what has happened to our tea industry? I was chatting with a retired tea planter who lamented that the tea sector is facing serious challenges and policy missteps,” he said. “Interesting! I was also thinking on the same lines for this week’s column,” I said.
“Gone are the days when working on a tea estate as a junior superintendent or a senior superintendent was considered a plum job in society. I would imagine that attracting the best these days must be having its limitations,” he said. “Tea was once Sri Lanka’s biggest export until garments came along and ousted this sector from its hallowed pedestal,” I said.
“So what has happened to our once, jewel in the crown?” he asked.
According to Indian news reports, India exported 254 million kg of tea in 2024, thus becoming the second-highest exporter in the world, while Sri Lanka became the third largest tea exporter with 245.7 million kg. Retaining the top spot was Kenya which exported over 500 million kg of tea in 2024, compared to being the third largest exporter in the 1990s.
The reports said that in 2023, India and Sri Lanka were neck-and-neck in tea exports with around 231 million kg. While Sri Lanka has sunk to third place from once, majestically being the biggest exporter in the world – a tremendous achievement for a small island nation – the tea sector still has other assets like beautiful tea gardens carved out in the Central hills which attract tourists every year. Another plus point is that half its exports are sent out as added value – branded tea packs – compared to the good old days when it was sent in bulk to the London Tea Auction.
Ironically, Iraq, a war-torn country, is Sri Lanka’s largest tea importer with purchases of 34.2 million kg in 2024.
Sri Lanka emerged as the world’s largest tea exporter in 1990, with production increasing after the privatisation of plantation management. But Sri Lanka’s tea production has been coming down in recent years. In 2018, it was over 300 million kg, while last year it was 262.15 million kg, however, higher than 256.08 million kg in 2023. The Central Bank said that despite the y-o-y increase in tea exports in 2024, the tea export volume in 2024 was significantly lower than the pre-pandemic annual average recorded from 2015 to 2019.
Gone are the days when friends visiting planters would enjoy a drink before a colonial-style fireplace, amidst cold and misty climatic conditions, swapping stories of the thrilling days of yesteryear. Most of these 100-year-old bungalows are still well maintained by current tea estate owners, all private companies after the estates were nationalised in 1972-73 and handed over to the private sector in 1992 for management purposes.
So what’s happening to Sri Lanka’s once golden crop? A multitude of factors in an industry that is 158 years old (started in 1867) and is highly unionised. If you consider the first tea being brought from China and planted at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya in 1824, then this industry dates back to more than 200 years old.
Among the issues is the loss of more than 50 per cent of the labour (to other jobs) and, in this context, the need to mechanise tea plucking, high wage costs compared to production costs, sharp drop in production from over 300 million kg to 260 million kg and the need to diversify, for example to palm oil, a key demand from plantation companies. Among these issues, the biggest problem is how to increase production to the good old days and develop a production model that would withstand the challenges for another 100 years.
Another folly was the badly misguided policy of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to ban agro-chemicals and switch to 100 per cent organic farming without any proper evaluation, adversely affecting the plantations sector which is still recovering from this foolish decision.
In a recent article, Sunil Poholiyadde, Chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon, said sustaining the plantation sector has become an increasingly complex task, requiring correcting several embedded issues from past management structures. Conflicts between private and public sector administrations have added further complications.
The industry now faces competition from multiple sectors, both domestically and globally. From competition for labour within the island to the rise of large-scale tea production across Asia and Africa, the premium that Sri Lanka’s plantation exports once commanded is now under constant pressure. “While, the plantation sector is often compared to many other industries, there is a critical difference: while many other sectors import most of its raw materials, plantations produce their raw materials locally, importing only necessary inputs. This makes the plantation industry unique and highlights its contribution to the national economy,” he wrote.
Just as I was to conclude typing my column, I walked into the kitchen to fetch a second mug of tea and, as usual, wanted to take a peek at what the trio was up to under the margosa tree during their regular Thursday conversation. “Eka viruddha pakshayak egollangey maei dina meetama thiyanne ada wathukaraye (One opposition party is having their May Day rally today in a plantation area,” said Serapina, who has some friends working in the tea plantations. “Egollo hadanawada chanda ganna palath palana mathiwaranayata (Are they trying to gain more votes for local government elections)?” asked Kussi Amma Sera. “Nae, mama hithanne eh wathukara wurthiya samithi balawath nisa kiyala (No… I think it’s because the plantation unions are powerful),” noted Mabel Rasthiyadu.
Winding up, one wonders where the tea industry is heading in the next 50 years, whether the shimmering tea gardens in the hill country would continue to attract tourists or whether the amount of tea exports is retained at the 260 million kg-level, while tea exports of Kenya and India surge ahead. Only time will tell.
Hitad.lk has you covered with quality used or brand new cars for sale that are budget friendly yet reliable! Now is the time to sell your old ride for something more attractive to today's modern automotive market demands. Browse through our selection of affordable options now on Hitad.lk before deciding on what will work best for you!