Category: Agriculture

August 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Watawala Plantations plc, a unit of India’s Tata Teas, said net profit for the quarter ended June 2007 fell 24 percent to 35 million rupees compared with last year. Revenue rose to 917 million rupees from 802 million the year before, according to interim results released by the […]

August 08, 2007 (LBO) – Kelani Valley Plantations, a unit of Sri Lanka’s Hayleys group, saw profits dip 36 percent in the quarter ended June 2007 as turnover rose by 3 percent, as it recovered from the effects of a strike the previous year. . Consolidated net profit after tax fell to 63.3 million from […]

Aug 2, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s tea export volumes fell by 10 percent in the first six months of this year, but earnings rose marginally by three percent, a commodity broker said Thursday. Sri Lanka, which is better known for its high quality aromatic tea known by the country’s previous name Ceylon, is made […]

August 01, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs a more protectionist trade policy to ensure vulnerable sections of society are protected from the negative effects of liberalization while enabling its advantages to be exploited, a top agricultural economist said. This was one of the main reasons for the repeated failure of Doha talks, Herath said. […]

July 31, 2007 (LBO) –Sri Lanka’s agribusiness companies have started a programme to get corporate executives to volunteer their services help farmers improve productivity, reduce waste and get better access to markets. The aim of the programme, launched under the aegis of the National Agribusiness Council (NAC), is to get member firms to provide two […]

July 31, 2007 (LBO) – Pelwatte Sugar group has reported a loss of 75.6 million rupees for the June quarter while sales also fell 53 percent to 161 million rupees, the firm’s results released to the Stock Exchange showed. Last year it reported 341 million rupees in sales and 109 million in profits. International sugar […]

July 26, 2007 (LBO) – Bogawantalawa Tea Estates Ltd. has reported loss last year but its marketing subsidiary, about whose viability auditors have raised doubts, has made a breakthrough in overseas markets with contracts to pack teas for private labels. Bogawantalawa Tea Estates reported a group net loss of 121.6 million rupees for the year […]

July 25, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Agribusiness Council (NAC) has started a scheme to help farmers get better access to markets and other skills and resources. Representatives of farmer councils set up under the NAC’s aegis signed an agreement to form a federation at the Ag-Biz trade fair over the weekend. The aim […]

July 21, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka is ready to give free land to agribusiness companies for cultivation on a profit sharing basis, a government minister said Friday. Minister of Agriculture Hemakumara Nanayakkara said the government was keen to meet the long-standing request by agribusiness for land from the government. State Land “The private […]

July 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s low grown tea prices have surged owing to strong demand from key buying countries and a shortfall in the crop, brokers said. Prices of low grown teas, grown mainly in the low country districts and by smallholders, have been climbing steadily for the past one year. But the […]

July 10, 2007 (LBO) – A pay hike wrested by workers with a strike on Sri Lanka’s tea estates last year has taken its toll on two more plantations companies, Kahawatte Plantations and Madulsima Plantations, with both firms reporting losses. “For the industry, it is indeed a dilemma to reconcile social responsibilities with the realities […]

July 09, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Board plans to double the import duty on foreign-made teas and introduce quality certification for imports to prevent illicit blending with Ceylon Tea. . Officials say this is aimed at safeguarding the image of pure Ceylon Tea. Under the new rules, to be gazetted soon, the import […]