Category: Agriculture

Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s listed plantations companies are getting into spice cultivation, drawn by the opportunities offered by their vast land holdings and the reputation for the island’s crops, officials said. As many as 12 of the 18 plantation companies listed on the Colombo bourse have diversified and gone into the production […]

Aug 19, 2009 – The Sri Lanka government’s failure to give back cess funds collected from tea exports for brand building spells danger to Ceylon tea, as rival origins step up marketing efforts, exporters have warned.Tea Exporters Association chairman Jayantha Keragala said promotional funding to help exporters to build brands in overseas markets, meant to […]

Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan spice exporters and producers said this year’s production and exports have been affected by bad weather on which the crops are dependent. Karthik Ramachandran, chairman of the Spices & Allied Products Producers™ & Traders™ Association (SAPPTA) said demand for the island’s spices was growing rapidly. “SAPPTA is trying […]

Aug 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Coco Lanka said exports of coconut products did well in the June 2009 quarter with group net profit up 982 percent to 34 million rupees from just three million a year ago. The company, part of the Renuka Holdings group, said in a stock exchange filing that sales […]

Aug 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Maskeliya Plantations said June 2009 quarter net profit was marginally higher than a year ago despite lower sales and sharply higher finance costs. The company said in a stock exchange filing that net profit for the June quarter went up two percent to 53 million rupees from a […]

Aug 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s largest branded tea exporter who was hit by a slump in demand says an upturn may be around the corner but warns that weak balance sheets in large plantations pose a long-term threat to the industry. MJF Group owned Dilmah tea – available in over 90 countries – […]

Aug 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s James Finlay group said June 2009 quarter net profit shot up 75 percent to 80 million rupees from a year ago as exports of value-added teas with better profit margins grew.The company, part of the Swire group of the UK, said in a stock exchange filing of provisional […]

Aug 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea growing and marketing company Bogawantalawa Tea Estates said in a statement it was in talks with a multinational to sell packaged tea in the United States.Bogawatalawa Tea Estates manages 14 estates on 8,000 hectares at elevations of 3,000-5,000 feet and also sells tea, including iced teas, in […]

Aug 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea growing and marketing company Bogawantalawa Tea Estates said it has launched its own distribution channel in the local market.Most Sri Lankan tea producers sell their teas through the Colombo auctions but several firms are trying to establish their own brands and sell direct to consumers, cutting out […]

Aug 06, 2009 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan teas grown in the central highlands that showed the ‘Uva’ seasonal flavour shot up sharply at this week’s Colombo auctions, brokers said. Teas grown in the Uva and Udapussellawa regions of the island’s central hills are much sort after by overseas buyers during the quality season […]

Aug 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Smallholder Factories, which processes tea grown mainly by small farmers, said net profit for the June 2009 quarter rose four percent to 53 million rupees from a year ago.Sri Lankan tea producers were hit hard by a severe drought earlier this year and the effects of last […]

LONDON, August 3, 2009 (AFP) – The price of sugar reached a record high here on Monday, aided by a weaker dollar amid more positive signs of economic recovery and the commodity’s weak supply situation, traders said.In London trade, white sugar for delivery in October reached 505.9 pounds a tonne — the highest level since […]