Tea has and will be an important commodity in the Sri Lankan economy in the future as well and the stakeholders and the government must discus and solve some of the issues in the industry, said Governor Central Bank, Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy.
Speaking at the launch of a commemorative Rs10 coin at the Central Bank to mark Tea industry’s 150th anniversary he said that there are issues with regard to wages, prices, fertilizer, taxes, branding, research, marketing and these can be solved with all parties coming to discussions.
The Governor recalled that since coffee was replaced by tea it become a main export commodity from Sri Lanka and for nearly a decade the price of a kilogram of tea was considered a key indicator of the economy.
Minister of Finance and Media, Mangala Samaraweera also emphasized the importance of tea and said it was bedrock of the economy and it accounts to 14% of
total agriculture exports.
He said that though Russia and the Gulf are two main export markets for tea the industry would not be able to reap full benefits due to low crude oil prices and other issues they are currently facing. “Hence we must look at new markets.”
The minister also said today world is shifting away from carbonate drinks and local tea industry can fill in the void with value added innovative tea products.
Minister Navin Dissanyake said that they will look at new markets and would lead a delegation to Iran next month. “In addition we will also try to include many clauses where Sri Lanka tea could reap benefits from the proposed China Sri Lanka FTA.”
Chairman Sri Lanka Tea Traders Associations Anslem Perera said that they are very thankful to the government for their efforts to assist the tea industry and said that this is the first time that the State came forward to mint a coin for the tea industry.
0 comments: