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| Sunday, 23 February 2003 |
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Making Ceylon Tea a global market force by INDUNIL THENUWARA Six key stakeholders of Sri Lanka's tea industry got together last week with the intention of making Ceylon Tea a global market force. The Tea Association of Sri Lanka (TASL), comprising the Planters Association of Ceylon, Colombo Tea Traders' Association, Tea Exporters' Association, Sri Lanka Federation of Tea Small Holdings Development Societies, Private Tea Factory Owners Association and Colombo Brokers' Association, will be formally launched on February 27. The umbrella organisation intends to transform the 135-year old industry into a truly global force and facilitate a greater private sector role in strategy formulation and implementation. It has quality certification, marketing and product development as a common long-term strategy, Minister of Plantation Industries Lakshman Kiriella said at a news conference held to announce the launch. "Earlier, when problems arose in the tea industry, we had to separately deal with several stakeholders who had different agendas and interests. With a common body, we hope to eliminate this hassle and resolve problems through discussions and consensus for the greater good of the industry. Similar bodies are envisaged for the coconut and rubber industries as well," he said. Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries Naveen Dissanayake said the association intends to be a proactive organisation with the objective of meeting the future needs and challenges of the industry. "The project would, in its initial stages, be funded through the ongoing Asian Development Bank-supported Plantation Reform Project and the proposed Plantation Development Project. This is an industry which requires huge investments. So we welcome ADB assistance," he said. Chairman TASL Rohan Fernando, who is also the Chairman of the Planters Association, described the initial tasks of the association as promoting Ceylon Tea globally, developing market intelligence, and leveraging quality through a quality certification programme with the establishment of certification infrastructure. It would also be involved in strategy and policy development and be a catalyst for product development and research. "Funding plans for the first five years of operations envisage an investment of about Rs. 200 million, largely from donor funds, but with an increasing contribution from the Tea Cess and fee-based activities in the longer term," he said. TASL would also facilitate strategic alliances and collaborate with supporting institutions such as the Tea Research Institute, Sri Lanka Tea Board, and the Tea Smallholdings Development Authority. It also plans to be the conduit for the establishment of a market intelligence and promotion centre, for e-trading, to establish liaisons with non-governmental organisations to raise awareness on international codes of conduct and for certification standards relating to social, welfare and environmental conditions. Minister Kiriella explained that the Government is watching the Iraqi situation closely. "If it leads to a war, we have discussed concessions for the industry with the Treasury.'' |
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