Category: Agriculture

Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – Action by labour unions on Sri Lanka’s tea estates to disrupt the movement of teas could hamper exports and threatens the industry and entire economy, the Colombo Tea Traders™ Association (CTTA) warned. It would also worsen the current cash-flow problems of plantation companies, the CTTA warned and result in serious […]

Sept 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Tea Services, which exports value-added teas under the Dilmah brand, said net profit halved last year and sales are likely to remain poor this year owing to recession.Group net profit in the year ended March 31, 2009 fell 55 percent to 487 million rupees from a year […]

Aug 25, 2009 (LBO) – Renuka Agrifoods, a Sri Lankan exporter of value-added agro-based products, especially coconut, has won a top award for agribusiness.The company, a subsidiary of the listed Renuka Holdings, said in a statement it was named Overall National Winner (Gold Award) at the recent National Agribusiness Awards 2009. It also clinched the […]

Aug 21, 2009 (LBO) – Production of Sri Lanka’s main export commodity, tea, remain well below last year’s level with the July output at 25.1 million kilos being 11 percent lower than the same month a year ago, brokers said. Tea production in other exporting countries is also down this year with the global shortfall […]

Aug 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s listed plantations companies are getting into spice cultivation, drawn by the opportunities offered by their vast land holdings and the reputation for the island’s crops, officials said. As many as 12 of the 18 plantation companies listed on the Colombo bourse have diversified and gone into the production […]

Aug 19, 2009 – The Sri Lanka government’s failure to give back cess funds collected from tea exports for brand building spells danger to Ceylon tea, as rival origins step up marketing efforts, exporters have warned.Tea Exporters Association chairman Jayantha Keragala said promotional funding to help exporters to build brands in overseas markets, meant to […]

Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan spice exporters and producers said this year’s production and exports have been affected by bad weather on which the crops are dependent. Karthik Ramachandran, chairman of the Spices & Allied Products Producers™ & Traders™ Association (SAPPTA) said demand for the island’s spices was growing rapidly. “SAPPTA is trying […]

Aug 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Coco Lanka said exports of coconut products did well in the June 2009 quarter with group net profit up 982 percent to 34 million rupees from just three million a year ago. The company, part of the Renuka Holdings group, said in a stock exchange filing that sales […]

Aug 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Maskeliya Plantations said June 2009 quarter net profit was marginally higher than a year ago despite lower sales and sharply higher finance costs. The company said in a stock exchange filing that net profit for the June quarter went up two percent to 53 million rupees from a […]

Aug 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s largest branded tea exporter who was hit by a slump in demand says an upturn may be around the corner but warns that weak balance sheets in large plantations pose a long-term threat to the industry. MJF Group owned Dilmah tea – available in over 90 countries – […]

Aug 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s James Finlay group said June 2009 quarter net profit shot up 75 percent to 80 million rupees from a year ago as exports of value-added teas with better profit margins grew.The company, part of the Swire group of the UK, said in a stock exchange filing of provisional […]

Aug 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea growing and marketing company Bogawantalawa Tea Estates said in a statement it was in talks with a multinational to sell packaged tea in the United States.Bogawatalawa Tea Estates manages 14 estates on 8,000 hectares at elevations of 3,000-5,000 feet and also sells tea, including iced teas, in […]