Category: Agriculture

Dec 29, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and India will hold talks on resolving a fishing dispute which escalated after the end of a 30-year war, when a joint working group meets in January. Fisheries minister Rajitha Senaratne said Sri Lanka will hold talks with an Indian delegation made up of state and central government […]

Dec 21, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has asked Russia to cut import duty on tea in a phased manner following its admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) after 18 years of negotiations, officials said. Sri Lanka’s tea industry has been lobbying Russia to reduce import duty to enable exporters better access for value-added […]

Dec 20, 2011 (LBO) – Russia’s entry in to the World Trade Organization last week will enable high import duty on value-added tea to be reduced, creating better access for Sri Lankan teas, industry officials said. “Russia is our largest market for tea and we would like to increase value-added teas being sent to Russia […]

Dec 19, 2011 (LBO) – A specialty tea contest held in Russia recently would help Sri Lankan exporters promote Ceylon teas in the biggest market for the island’s main agricultural export, officials said. ‘Blind tasting’ of the teas was done by a panel of 12 tea tasters with 66 entries being sent to Russia for […]

Dec 16, 2011 (LBO) – Tea producing and consuming countries will seek to agree on a common standard for pesticide residue levels in tea during a meeting of the United Nations Food and Agriculture organisation body in Colombo early next year. Different MRL standards in markets like Japan and Germany had created problems for exporters […]

Dec 15, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will go ahead with a new law requiring transport of fruits and vegetables in plastic crates but would look into any shortcomings after protests by farmers and traders led to shortages in the capital. “We’re not changing the policy,” declared Keheliya Rambukwella, media minister and spokesman for the […]

Dec 12, 2011 (LBO) – Dubai-based S S Lootah International said it had inked a partnership with Sri Lanka’s CIC Agri Business to supply ornamental plants to the UAE and later jointly expand into tissue culture with an eye on markets in Africa. The statement said CIC Agribusiness works with 25,000 rural farmers. “We will […]

Dec 09, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has emerged as the top tuna loin exporter to the European Union and is ramping up production aiming to earn a billion dollars from fishery exports in nine years, an official said. Senaratne said the island had cracked down on illegal and destructive fishing methods like bottom trawling […]

Dec 08, 2011 (LBO) – Fish exports from Sri Lanka, which is trying to make the industry a key foreign exchange earner, are being affected by slowing demand in key Western markets, a top export promotion official said. But demand is expected to bounce back, said Janaka Ratnayaka, chairman of the Export Development Board (EDB). […]

Dec 02, 2011 (LBO) – Demand for Sri Lanka’s low grown teas, which make up the bulk of the crop, perked up at this week’s Colombo auctions after increased orders from key overseas buyers and the snap devaluation of the rupee, brokers said. “Despite Sri Lanka tea production in the month of October recording a […]

Nov 29, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to set up more dedicated ‘agro export zones’ to help promote export of agricultural produce by private sector exporters. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement it would set up the zones focusing on private-public partnerships between the government and the private sector. The […]

Nov 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices fell at this week’s Colombo auctions with reduced demand and brokers saying the island is unlikely to match last year’s annual production owing to a slower recovery in crops. A key buyer also kept out of the first day of the auctions owing transport problems involving […]