Category: Agriculture

Sept 25, 2009 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lanka’s high grown teas made by plantation firms rose again at the Colombo auctions this week owing to supply shortages, brokers said. The local crop has been affected by drought earlier this year followed by recent labour union action that disrupted production and transport of made tea […]

Sept 24, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s production of black tea in August 2009 fell 5.3 percent to 23.9 million kilos from a year ago, with the shortfall coming from the high and mid-grown elevations, according to the Sri Lanka Tea Board. But production of low grown teas, which make up the bulk of the […]

Sept 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plantations industry is demanding that the government settle long-delayed tax refunds to help bear the cost of a wage hike estimated at an extra six billion rupees a year.Damitha Perera, chairman of the Planters’ Association, which represents the industry, said repayment of value-added tax refunds and disbursement of […]

Sept 18, 2009 (LBO) – Theft of spices from Sri Lankan gardens is a serious problem that could kill the trade, the new head of the island’s spice traders association has said. The global demand for spices will continue to increase because of growing awareness that consumption of spices contribute to good health, he said. […]

Sept 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices were again propelled higher at the Colombo auctions this week by supply concerns stemming from a worker go-slow on upcountry estates and a global production shortfall, brokers said. Auctions prices are likely to stay high as drought in major tea exporting countries had reduced the crop […]

Sept 17, 2009 (LBO) – A lower grade government rice stock pile in Sri Lanka would be sold at 33 rupees a kilo, a government minister said, at time when the island’s staple food is near last year’s ‘food crisis’ levels.“We have built up a 44,000 tonnes of buffer stocks, we are only selling 15,000 […]

Sept 14, 2009 (LBO) – A dispute over a wage hike that disrupted tea supplies from Sri Lankan plantations had ended with labour unions agreeing to a deal which will cost the industry about six billion rupees a year, a senior official said. Regional plantations companies (RPCs) and labour unions are to sign a deal […]

Sept 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plantations industry will face about six billion rupees in extra costs owing to a deal with labour unions that ended a dispute over a wage hike that had disrupted tea supplies from hill-country estates, a senior official said. Regional plantations companies (RPCs) are to sign a deal today […]

Sept 13, 2009 (LBO) – Talks between Sri Lankan plantations companies and labour unions on a pay hike appeared to have made some headway when the dominant union agreed on a deal, union officials said. Plantations companies had said they were unable to pay 500 rupees a day as they cannot afford it given high […]

Sept 12, 2009 (LBO) – Talks between Sri Lankan plantations companies and labour unions on a pay hike were unsuccessful Friday and are likely to be resumed next week, although the gap seems to have narrowed, union officials said.O A Ramiah,.Secretary General of the Joint Plantation Trade Union Centre, one of the three main unions […]

Sept 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Pelwatte Sugar Industries (PSISL) has used a state-supported credit scheme to stop farmers from moving into more attractive food crops and rubber cultivation and lobbied the government to increase tariff barriers.Chairman M J C Amarasuriya told shareholders the firm had been able to use a rural credit scheme […]

Sept 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan plantations companies and labour unions failed to agree on a wage hike at talks Thursday and are set to resume negotiations Friday morning, officials said.S Ramanathan of the Joint Plantations Trade Union Centre, one of the three main unions negotiating with employers, said both sides remained far apart […]