Category: Agriculture

Feb 23, 2009 (LBO) – Tea prices rose sharply at last week’s Colombo auction with crops on the decline and the quality season which attracts overseas buyers in full swing, brokers said.The brightest seasonal Nuwara Eliya BOP teas moved up sharply by 50 – 100 rupees per kilo. The market also moved up sharply for […]

Feb 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Kelani Valley Plantations said net profit fell 33.5 percent to 276 million rupees in the 2008 financial year mainly owing to the collapse of tea and rubber prices in the final quarter.Sales grew 10 percent to 3,109 million rupees in the year ending December 31, 2008, the company, […]

Feb 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is seeking protection for the Ceylon Tea brand and seven growing areas under international intellectual property laws that cover products under ‘geographical indicators’, a government minister said. Sri Lanka Tea Board, a state regulatory body, has been authorized to seek protection under the provisions of the agreement on […]

Feb 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned Chilaw Plantations, which grows coconut, has increased profit by 47 percent to 153.68 million rupees under state management in 2008, a year when commodity prices shot to record highs. The Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA), a government agency charged with ensuring state enterprises are run profitably, said […]

Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices fell at this week’s Colombo auction with lower buying from key markets like Russia contributing to the decline, brokers said.The better teas were selectively sought after by shippers to Japan, Pakistan and possibly the Continent. But there was noticeably less activity this week from shippers to […]

Feb 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka exported 319.7 million kilos of tea and earned an estimated 1.26 billion dollars in 2008, but industry officials said shippers may not have received full payment given the collapse of the market towards the end of the year. Brokers Asia Siyaka Commodities said in a market report that […]

Feb 06, 2009 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan tea fell on lower demand at this week’s Colombo auctions, breaking an upward trend that began with the first sale of the year, brokers said.High-priced teas from the low grown regions, which produce the bulk of the national crop, suffered the worst falls. “The market for […]

Feb 06, 2009 (LBO) – The collapse in Sri Lankan tea prices towards the end of last year has caused a loss of 35 million rupees at Tea Smallholder Factories, a listed unit of John Keells Holdings, in the December quarter.Tea Smallholder Factories said net profit for the nine months ending December 31, 2008 was […]

BANGKOK, January 29, 2009 (AFP) – Thailand’s cabinet Thursday approved a plan to stockpile 200,000 tonnes of rubber from next month in a bid to stabilise prices which have almost halved in a year.Thailand’s rubber industry, based mostly in the southern and eastern provinces, has suffered in recent months from falling oil prices, which have […]

Jan 28, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices at the Colombo auctions this week maintained their upward trend with demand strong despite the weakening of the currencies of key buyer countries like Russia, brokers said. Supply was tight because of dry weather in key origins while demand remained strong because of winter in the […]

Jan 23, 2009 (LBO) – Prices of tea, Sri Lanka’s main export commodity, rose again at this week’s Colombo auction on strong demand from traditional markets like Russia and the Middle East. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Brokers said there was good demand for […]

Jan 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices rose again at this week’s Colombo auction on strong demand with brokers saying the trend augurs well for producers who saw the market crash towards the end of last year. “The market continued strong for Low Grown varieties,” Asia Siyaka Commodities said in a report on […]