Category: Agriculture

Mar. 30 (LBO) – Kelani Valley Plantations Ltd and its subsidiary companies have reported healthy increase in turnover for the financial year ended December 31, 2005 on the back of strong growth in tea and rubber production.In its annual report for 2005 the company reported a 10 per cent increase in turnover to Rs 1.918 […]

KOSGODA, Sri Lanka, March 12, 2006 (AFP) – Arabs and Europeans invaded Sri Lanka partly to control the island’s cinnamon trade, but centuries later the commodity is facing a new threat from a cheaper substitute.Tropical Sri Lanka is better known for its aromatic black tea, but it is also the world’s top supplier of natural […]

Mar. 02 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea production for January dipped to 24.7 million kilos from 26.0 million kilos a year earlier due to excessive rain, a commodity broker said Thursday. January production shows a slight increase over December figure of 23.3 million kilos, but Sri Lanka’s crop has been on the downward slope since October […]

Feb. 23 (LBO) – Sri Lanka shipped 24.8 million kilos of tea in January, the highest ever in a single month, a commodity brokering house said Thursday.The previous highest record was 24.6 million kilos of tea sold in January 2004, Asia Siyaka Commodity Brokers said.Revenues from tea exports for January was also the highest ever so […]

LONDON, Jan 9 (AFP) – The cup of tea, that staple of everyday English life for centuries, officially became a national icon Monday as the British government launched a new project to celebrate the country’s cultural heritage.The humble “cuppa” was named as one of 12 symbols that best represents England in an online initiative spearheaded […]

Tea producing neighbours India and Sri Lanka will join forces to lobby for a common standard for minimum pesticide residual levels in black tea. Tea producing countries are also calling for a change in the way the tea is tested, accounting for the fact that black tea is drunk rather than chewed and eaten. Existing […]

Despite lower productions since October, the island’s annual tea production could still beat the 2002 record of 310 million kilos.Asia Siyaka Commodity Brokers said “Even though the heavy rains in October and November caused a production short fall against 2004, Sri Lanka is still on its way to achieving a record an annual figure in […]

Tea trails, four refurbished colonial bungalows nestled in the tea decked hills of Bogavantalawa is attracting high end visitors from mostly UK. Tourists from UK who like to experience the kind of lifestyle their ancestors lived here during the British Raj are visiting these boutique bungalows and have added a new revenue stream to its […]

The tea industry could start off the new year on a low price branch, with the current wet weather weighing down on quality and as a result on auction prices.The weekly sales average is already on a down trend at Rs.193.51 this week, down from Rs. 196.70 in early November trading and Rs.207.69 in 2004. […]

Plantation workers are the poorest segment in the country despite tea being an export crop and heavy private sector involvement in its trade. Government divested ownership in plantation companies in the early 1990’s which led to productivity gains and some improvement in living conditions of workers. But incidence of poverty in estates increased during the […]

Russians are paying more for a good cuppa, spending an average US$ 1.82 this year, up from US$ 1.69 in 2004. Asia Siyaka Commodity Brokers in its weekly tea report quoted head of the Rusteacoffee industry lobby Ramaz Chanturiya saying that tea consumption in Russia will remain stable in the foreseeable future, but the share […]

The Sri Lankan tea industry could be warming up to blending imported teas, not to lose out on a price driven global market place. Sri Lanka, which has a lobby against blending imported teas saw imported teas for re-export grow to 6.4 mn kilos up to Aug 25 form about 4 mn kilos in 2003. […]