Category: Agriculture

May 28, 2007 (LBO) – A subsidiary of Sri Lanka’s Carsons group with oil palm estates in south east Asia is considering expansion and downstream ventures but warns that recent drought could affect future crop. “Here again, planting was delayed owing to drought conditions,” Selvanathan said. The Shalimar (Malay) Estate Company Ltd., a unit of […]

NEW YORK, May 24, 2007 (AFP) – Crude oil prices closed mixed Thursday as the market focused on healthy stocks of crude in the United States and the contested nuclear program of oil producer Iran. New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, dropped 1.59 dollars to end at 64.18 […]

MAY 23, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission are considering introducing a tea futures market as part of efforts to develop the island’s capital markets and provide an opportunity for tea producers to hedge risks.“It’s a bet on what tea prices will do ” so the producer can hedge his […]

May 18, 2007 (LBO) – The Colombo Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) said Friday the industry was strongly opposed to government plans to increase the tea export cess.Funds could also be used for promoting Sri Lankan owned brands, stimulating value-added exports, facilitating food hygiene initiatives and supplementing research programmes.It also accused the government of violating the basic […]

May 17, 2007 (LBO) – The United States supports Sri Lanka in its effort to develop off shore oil exploration, the country’s ambassadore in Colombo said.“I invited all the countries to explore Sri Lanka’s off shore oil opportunities in the recent Offshore Technology Conference in Houston,” said the US ambassador for Sri Lanka Robert Blake. Offshore […]

May 11, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has raised fuel prices from midnight Friday with diesel going up by two rupees, petrol by one rupee and furnace oil by three rupees a litre, a Ceylon Petroleum Corporation official said.This would push 90-Octane petrol to 106 rupees and 95-Octane petrol to 109 rupees with standard auto-diesel going […]

MAY 3, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea exports fell in the first quarter of 2007 but earnings were up because of high prices caused by supply shortages owing to a strike and dry weather, brokers said. Shipments of Ceylon tea in January-March 2007 fell 4% to 74.4 million kg from the record 77.8 million kg […]

April 30, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has agreed to release all funds owed to the tea industry from the export cess but key stakeholders are opposing a proposal to further increase the cess. Tea Board Chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi told LBO the Cabinet had agreed to release all funds of the tea export cess, […]

April 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state tea promotion agency is planning a new initiative based on performance incentives to boost flagging valued added tea exports, an official said. The incentive is to be based on exporters performance in increasing the volume and value of such teas, Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi told […]

April 25, 2007 (LBO) – Hayleys subsidiary Talawakelle Tea Estates (TTEL), has reported a sharp fall in first quarter profits after a strike crippled production late last year.Net profit for the three months ended March 31, 2007 fell 60 percent to 30.2 million rupees from 75.8 million rupees in the same 2006 period.Revenue was down 16 […]

April 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s largest petroleum retailer, the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), is setting its sights on crude oil hedging after ending up on the right side of its maiden gas-oil options position, an official said. During those periods Ceylon Petroleum had run losses around 200 million US dollars. CPC received a […]

April 20, 2007 (LBO) – US oil giant Chevron-Texaco is interested in bidding for offshore oil exploration blocks in Sri Lankan waters, a top official of its local unit, Caltex Lubricants said. “Chevron is interested in the exploration opportunity,” Kishu Gomes, Managing Director Caltex in Sri Lanka told reporters. “There is a delegation going to Houston, […]