Sri Lanka will restart exporting tea to Iran soon through a joint agreement to be signed between the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB), the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Iran shortly, Minister of Plantation Industries, Navin Dissanayaka said.
The Minister said the CPC owes Iran US $ 320 million for oil purchases from Iran. The SLTB will now export tea to the tune of US$ 320 million to Iran and then claim this amount form CPC in order to pay back tea exporters.
Due to global sanctions on Iran no financial transactions could go though and this is the best way out of this situation which is a win-win scenario for all. “Agriculture exports do not come under these sanctions but we cannot export and gain payments due to the sanctions as banks get blacklisted if they do dealings with Iran.”
Minister Dissanayake also said he is very disappointed with tea planters for falling far below the re plantation target of 2% per year. “It’s now less than .05%. To cover the Ministry has launched a new initiative to offer 15 million plants under the ‘Thee Navodaya’ program. We have requested Rs. 300 million for the Tea CESS fund for this purpose to be reimbursed to the CESs fund from the government as and when the funds are received.”
The SLTB will also be very tough on tea factory owners who mix sugar syrup to tea and new scientific methods are used to detect these factories. “We have already suspended 15tea factories for a period of three months.”
The Minister also said that subsequent to series of requests by Tea stakeholders, a cabinet proposal would be sought to offer a financial relief package to them in the aftermath of Ester Sunday blasts and the declining of tea prices and global demand. Minister Dissanayake said he was also not happy in the manner in which some of the Regional plantation companies neglecting CSR activities towards staff welfare. “We are also looking at the wage increase in a more broader aspect,” he added.
Global tea marketing campaign to kick off in September
The much awaited and long overdue Global tea marketing campaign will finally start from September this year, said Minister Navin Dissanayaka.
“We will star the campaign from Russia and will then extend to 11 other countries including Europe and the Gulf.”
He said that they will soon call tenders from agencies for this and the total budget allocated for a period of three years will be US$ 50 million which would be withdrawn from the Tea CESS Fund which has an asset base in the excess of Rs. 3.3 billion.
The Minister also disclosed key emphasis on the global marketing campaign would be on social media.
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