Category: Agriculture

Dec 03, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan coconut-based industries have been badly affected by the decreasing supply of nuts because of low yields and poor prices, plantations industries minister D M Jayaratne said. “Almost stagnant or very marginal increase in coconut yield and decreasing supply of raw material to the industries has become a very […]

Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices at the Colombo auction fell sharply this week with large quantities unsold indicating the crisis caused by the sudden collapse in demand last month was continuing. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Brokers said that prices […]

Nov 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea small holders are pressing for government support to save the industry from ruin after demand dropped and prices crashed at auctions in Colombo.To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Chandrasena Wijesinghe, convenor of the Joint Federation of Tea […]

Nov 20, 2008 (LBO) – The quality of black tea production in Sri Lanka has improved while quantities are coming down, as producers tightened standards in response to the crisis caused by the collapse in prices, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 “Reduced […]

SAO PAULO, November 17, 2008 (AFP) – The cost of slave labor in sugar cane fields should not be overlooked when promoting the virtues of ethanol, the Roman Catholic Church said Monday, as an international conference on biofuel got under way in Brazil. “Without taking such (human) cost into account, you cannot promote the relative […]

November 15, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka, a key exporter of tea, has appealed to “friendly countries” to buy more of the brew to help the island weather the global financial crisis, officials said Saturday.The foreign ministry said ambassadors and envoys of Egypt, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar were briefed about Sri […]

Nov 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea market is continuing its recovery with demand picking up at this week’s auction, brokers said. Prices of low grown teas, the hardest hit when demand and prices collapsed last month causing severe cash flow problems for the trade, improved at this week’s sale. “Demand for low grown […]

Nov 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea trade has warned that the crisis caused by the sudden collapse in demand and prices was not over yet and that it was bracing itself for further trouble.The Colombo Tea Traders™ Association (CTTA) said in a statement that cash flow problems remained throughout the supply chain, with […]

Nov 11, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government said it would not allow milk powder importers to raise retail prices despite an increase in import levy in the budget for 2009 presented last week, because world prices are falling. World market prices of milk are coming down while production in key producer countries is […]

Nov 06, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government plans to offer several incentives to the tea industry such as lower taxes and subsidised fertiliser, president Mahinda Rajapaksa said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘act (space) lbo’ and send to 678 The incentives are meant to help the industry […]

Nov 05, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan tea auctions in Colombo stabilized this week with demand picking up and much less unsold teas although prices of some varieties still fell, brokers said. The Tea Board did not buy this week and has delayed payment for its purchases of a million kilos last week, with […]

Nov 03, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Horana Plantations, which is managed by the Ceylon Theatres group, said net profit for the September quarter shot up 201 percent to 50 million rupees from a year ago. Revenue rose 25 percent to 430 million rupees from 343 million rupees during the period. The profit growth was […]