Category: Agriculture

July 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan exporters of tea, the island’s top export commodity, say they not getting enough funds for marketing even though the government charges a tax on shipments which is meant for tea promotion.But the government subsequently decided to consolidate at the Treasury all cess funds collected on exports of tea, […]

July 3, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Maskeliya Plantations has reported a five fold increase in profits amid better export prices for tea, but steep management fees, interest and wages costs have kept profits in check.The firm charged 86 million rupees in interest to the profit and loss account, and said 183 million rupees on […]

June 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to join a global forum of major tea producing countries, Tea Board chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi said. Most major tea producing countries have signed a memorandum of understanding to form the International Tea Producers Forum (ITPF) which will focus on issues of concern to producers, he said. The […]

June 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea board is not encouraging the expansion of tea cultivation in an effort to prevent over-supply from depressing prices and has warned the industry against being carried away by current high prices. “If the decrease in availability of tea is more than 10 percent a greater price hike […]

June 23, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Tea Board is seeking new laws to tighten quality control on exports and prevent shipments of what are considered teas below a certain minimum standard, a senior official said. Sri Lanka Tea Board chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi said national legislation was required to enforce the ISO 3720 standard […]

June 21, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s billion-dollar tea industry remains too divided, squabbling over trivial matters, and is losing out on benefits it can otherwise win as other industries have done, a senior trade official said. But, Akbarally warned, the gains from high tea prices could be eroded by soaring costs. Production costs shot […]

June 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices appear to be heading for a correction with many grades from the estates easing at this week’s Colombo auctions where a larger volume was on offer, brokers said. “In fact the previous record for the period was 138 million kg in 2006 in which year Sri […]

June 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka must have a clear cut agriculture policy, especially for paddy, without resorting to short term solutions, if the country is to tackle the approaching food security issues, agriculture professionals said. “We have been having ad hoc approaches to food security and food policy,” said Nimal Ranaweera, a former […]

June 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea estate community, which plucked the leaf that kept the economy afloat for more than a century, has not reaped the benefits of the trade, says a new study on the link between trade and poverty. “The estate sector in Sri Lanka is a prime example of trade […]

UDAWALAWE, June 14, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Saturday released eight orphaned baby elephants into the jungle after rescuing them from near certain death, wildlife officials said. Official figures show about 150 are killed annually by villagers whose crops are destroyed by marauding elephants that claim the lives of 50 farmers each year. Many […]

June 12, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices remained strong for the third week running at this week’s auctions in Colombo with firm demand from the Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States, brokers said. The strong market for tea, along with rubber and palm oil, prompted investors on the Colombo bourse to […]

June 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Horana Plantations, which is managed by the Ceylon Theatres group has capped management fees to 15 million rupees a year, the company said. In the second stage the estates were sold to managing agents. Despite gaining ownership, the management companies kept the fees and used them to finance […]