Category: Agriculture

Aug 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea growing and marketing company Bogawantalawa Tea Estates said it has launched its own distribution channel in the local market.Most Sri Lankan tea producers sell their teas through the Colombo auctions but several firms are trying to establish their own brands and sell direct to consumers, cutting out […]

Aug 06, 2009 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan teas grown in the central highlands that showed the ‘Uva’ seasonal flavour shot up sharply at this week’s Colombo auctions, brokers said. Teas grown in the Uva and Udapussellawa regions of the island’s central hills are much sort after by overseas buyers during the quality season […]

Aug 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Smallholder Factories, which processes tea grown mainly by small farmers, said net profit for the June 2009 quarter rose four percent to 53 million rupees from a year ago.Sri Lankan tea producers were hit hard by a severe drought earlier this year and the effects of last […]

LONDON, August 3, 2009 (AFP) – The price of sugar reached a record high here on Monday, aided by a weaker dollar amid more positive signs of economic recovery and the commodity’s weak supply situation, traders said.In London trade, white sugar for delivery in October reached 505.9 pounds a tonne — the highest level since […]

Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Kelani Valley Plantations (KVPL) said it made a net profit of 41 million rupees in the June 2009 quarter, down 37 percent from a year ago, enabling it to almost erase losses in the previous quarter.Sales in the June 2009 quarter fell 18 percent to 674 million rupees […]

Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Watawala Plantations said net profit in the June 2009 quarter fell 37 percent to 37 million rupees from a year ago with the bottom line buoyed by palm oil and retail marketing earnings. Sales rose three percent to 1.1 billion rupees in the period, the company, a unit […]

July 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Talawakelle Tea Estates said it had returned to profit in the June 2009 quarter after making a loss in the previous quarter because of a sharp fall in the crop.A severe drought and the lagged effects of last year’s commodity market crash that led to the neglect of […]

July 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea exports fell in June from a year ago with earnings for the first half buoyed by the rupee’s depreciation against the dollar, brokers said. Prices at this week’s Colombo auction also fell from the week before, mainly on lower quality. Shipments of tea in June fell eight […]

July 23, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea production in June 2009 fell 14 percent to 23.6 million kilos compared with the same month in 2008 mainly because of sharp falls in teas grown in high and medium elevations, brokers said. In the six months to June 2009, the crop was down 23.8 percent to […]

MANILA, July 21, 2009 (AFP) – A weak US currency is expected to put fresh pressure on rice prices just a year after a global supply crunch caused the cereal to rocket above 1,000 dollars a tonne, the International Rice Research Institute said.The situation “suggests that a falling dollar will keep rice (and commodity) prices […]

July 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices rose sharply at this week’s Colombo auction as volumes began declining, brokers said. The same type of teas from the Uva central highlands region, whose quality season is about to begin, also rose sharply. “…the initial invoices which reflected the signs of seasonal improvement, gained further […]

July 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan cinnamon prices are on the rebound after last year’s crash, but exporters are calling for curbs on malpractices which they say could give the spice a bad name among buyers.Among the problems are cinnamon of inferior colour, inferior infilling in quills, and high moisture content. Trade experts said […]