Category: Agriculture

Aug 21, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea exporters are expecting prices to remain high owing to good quality leaf, savvy marketing and packaging, though the US dollar is strengthening and a global commodity bubble may have burst.Romesh Moraes of the Tea Exporters Association said the trade aims to maintain its price advantage over its […]

KURSEONG, August 19, 2008 (AFP) – Touring tea gardens in India’s famous Darjeeling hills and tasting several varieties of the gold-coloured brew has got Audrey Dreyer thinking about a career in the trade.Dreyer, from France, is among a growing number of tourists wanting to experience life on the estates in the famous tea-growing region to […]

Aug 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea exporters say banks should be less fearful in lending for shipments to key markets in the volatile Middle East and Russia and adopt new lending methods that use brands as collateral. Exporters say they are being restrained by high borrowing costs and a marked reluctance by banks […]

Aug 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea exporters expect to earn about 1.8 billion dollars this year with the wide variety of teas offered and growing awareness of tea’s health benefits expected to keep the market strong. “Sri Lanka has the widest variety of grades and the widest variety of tastes,” said Perera. “Kenya […]

Aug 15, 2008 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan low grown teas, which make up more than half the crop, fell for the third week running at this week’s Colombo auctions, brokers said. However, high grown teas produced by the listed plantations companies, stayed firm as erratic weather created fears of tight supply. The brokers […]

Aug 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea exporters have called for more money to be spent to promote and market Ceylon tea and develop local brands.Tea exporters association chairman Jayantha Keragala said a greater part of the funds collected from the four rupees per kilo tea export cess should be allocated to exporters. If […]

Aug 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has decided to spend at extra 25 billion rupees (230 million US dollars) on a politically important fertilizer subsidy, a senior minister said, as the country is seeking commercial funding for vital infrastructure projects.In the fiscal budget for 2008, Sri Lanka allocated 15 billion rupees for fertilizer subsidies, […]

Aug 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea export earnings hit a new high in the first half of this year compared with the same period in previous years, tea brokers said. Stock brokers said the high prices enjoyed by tea exporters were likely to boost the profits of listed plantations companies, which have drawn […]

July 30, 2008 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan low grown leafy grade teas fell sharply at this week’s Colombo auctions owing to fears that buyers may not be able to collect their purchases.Tea prices have been buoyed by good demand from traditional buyers like Russia and the Middle East oil exporting countries where consumers […]

KUALA LUMPUR, July 27, 2008 (AFP) – Malaysia will put in place a series of measures to stabilise plummeting global palm oil prices including selling off crude stocks, a report said Sunday.Peter Chin, minister of plantation industries and commodities, told the Sunday Star newspaper the government wanted to make sure that the almost 25-percent drop […]

July 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s pepper trade has demanded an end to import restrictions imposed by India that they say violates the spirit of a free trade accord between the two countries.The call was made by Gulam Chatoor, a former chairman of the Spices and Allied Products Association, on the eve of a […]

July 23, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s tea production rose by 18.2 percent to 171.3 million kilograms (376.9 million pounds) during the first half of this year, the Sri Lankan Tea Board said Wednesday. Production in June was 27.3 million kilograms, up 16.2 percent from the 23.5 million kilos during the same month last year. […]