Ceylon Tea poised for record year

by Shirajiv Sirimane

Ceylon Tea is poised for a record year in 2010 with production to touch 350 metric tons and exports to cross the 320 million Kilogramme Mark. Sri Lanka anticipates a record Rs. 15 billion from its tea exports this year. Sri Lanka earned 1.3 billion dollars in export in last year.

Tea production in June this year increased 18 percent, 29.5 million Kilogrammes compared to the corresponding month last year.

Chairman, Tea Advisory committee, Ministry of Industries Rohantha Athukorala said that following Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s visit to Japan, tea exports to Japan will be stepped up.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has been directed to take on the responsibility of improving trade with Japan so that it can be developed to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the near future.” Overall exports of Ceylon Tea which recorded 26.3 million dollars in 2005 has reached 42.6 million dollars today and is the seventh key market for Sri Lanka whilst the export of tea bags has virtually doubled from $5.4 million to 9.5 million in the last couple of years.

The Minister for Industry and Commerce Rishard Bathuideen focusing on the key export product, tea into the Japanese market held a meeting with the Tea Advisory Committee of the Ministry where it was identified that it was imperative that we ensure that Ceylon Tea entering the Japanese Market must be free of any pesticides.

This would enable Sri Lanka to be within the stringent quality standards demanded by the Japanese market whilst also ensuring that we make the best of the ‘Ceylon Speciality Teas’ that was launched recently in Japan supported strongly by Japanese tea connoisseurs and the Japanese Tea Association.