Category: Agriculture
New Bud
A strategy to expand its investment options will see Amana Investments venturing into the tea brokering business shortly.Amana will hold a 55 per cent stake in the Rs. 15 million venture, with six other investors taking up the balance shareholding.The new firm endash Tea Commodity Brokers endash opens shop in early July and will tap […]
Tea Party
Key stakeholders in the tea industry got together last week to form a pan industry apex body. The tea association of Sri Lanka plans to provide a singe point of view from the industry to policy makers in the future.” Before this association came whenever a problem arose we had to speak to several associations […]
Cup That Cheers
New apex body for the tea industry, the Tea Association of Sri Lanka (TASL) officially got off ground Tuesday, mapping out plans to set the industry standard for tea. The TASL will steer through all strategy and policy development for the sector acting also as a catalyst for product development and research Through promotion and […]
Short Crop
A collective decision by private tea factory owners to cut Rs.2 on the price for green leaf paid to smallholders, has prompted a threat of legal action.” The move by the factory owners is completely irregular and unlawful.It is illegal to pay less than the price determined by the reasonable price formula and if there […]
Creeping Up
Prices for crepe rubber have reached record levels as oil prices spiral, touching Rs. 129 a kilo at this weeks auction, a high since 1995. This is up from crepe prices of Rs.102 in Dec 2002. Crepe rubber is used as a substitute for synthetic rubber, which uses petroleum products. An agreement to cut output […]
Counting Leaves
Tea exporters are pushing for a three-month moratorium from commercial banks as the government maps out a contingency plan should war break out over Iraq.All exporters currently given a 180-day packing credit to settle outstanding loans, which they want extended by a further three months, Exporters Association officials say. ” We have already put forward […]
Crossfire
Rising tension in the Middle East is buing holes in the Sri Lankan tea industry as prices plummet and stocks accumulate at auctions. Low grown teas are seeing the brunt of the Middle Easte crisis, with prices on average dropping by Rs. 20.00 in two weeks. In addition, a backlog over 15 million kilos of […]
Stretch Factor
Sri Lankan investors stretched their resources to dip into plantation stocks with exposure to rubber, demand created by a giant leap in rubber prices from an 2002 average of below Rs. 55.00 to Rs. 110.00 for March forward prices. Why the high price? Chinas growing appetite for consumer goods with its expanding middle class, an […]
Looking Ahead
2003 will be an eventful year says commodity brokers Asia Siyaka.A round up of the year highlights key event in the tea industry. National Policy The Sri Lanka Tea industry could expect a very eventful year in 2003 with many significant domestic and intentional issues likely to have an impact on the market. The government […]
Bumper crop
Tea production is expected to touch the 308-mn kilo mark for 2002 brokers predict, given improved harvests in November the same year.For the eleven months ending November, crop intakes reached 281 mn kilos, up five percent on the 268 mn kilos the year before.If all goes as expected, crop intakes will surpass record levels of […]
Beyond in 2003
Sri Lankan Tea Exports is headed for a record high, with industry officials hoping for the total export quantity to exceed the landmark 300 million kilos. Cumulative exports to end October reached 246 million kilos, 3 million kilos above last years total for the same period. Officials feel there is much more to celebrate next […]
Tea Captain
Director of Gordon Frazer – Niraj de Mel, is poised to take over as CEO of the umbrella body the Tea Association of Sri Lanka.Appointed last week, he is expected to take over duties from February next year, leading the association for a two-year term, he confirmed. The Tea Association was formed as an umbrella […]
