Sri Lanka aims at $ 2.5 b in exports:

Ceylon Tea to be promoted

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce will readily support the Tea Board and the Ministry of Plantations to achieve a $ 2.5 billion tea export revenue target.

“The Geographical Indicator (GI) Registration undertaken by Sri Lanka will make Ceylon Tea stronger in the international market and enabling our tea industry to achieve a $ 2.5 billion target,” said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen when he met with a delegation of top state sector tea industry officials at the ministry premises on April 26.

Chairman Sri Lanka Tea Board Susantha Ratnayake, Chairman Tea Cluster (Ministry of Industry and Commerce) Rohantha Athukorala, Director- Sri Lanka Tea Board Hasitha de Alwis and Acting Director (Ministry of Industry and Commerce) Rohan Jayatileka were present.

Minister Bathiudeen also committed Rs. 8.5 million for 2011 for the Geographical Indicator (GI) Registration to ensures ‘Ceylon Tea’ a protected brand in twenty countries. The Minister will commit another Rs. 8.5 million for 2012 for brand protection in another 20 countries.

“This initiative will make Ceylon Tea and the tea industry itself stronger in moving towards the $ 2.5 billion target, Minister Bathiudeen said.

During the meeting, Minister Bathuideen emphasised that the process of setting up of a laboratory to test the cleanliness of Ceylon Tea should be speeded up.

Rathnayake informed that the facility, which is a Industry Ministry-Sri Lanka Tea Board partnership with an investment of Rs 18 million, is expected to run at full capacity. The Tea Board Chairman also informed the minister that the Ministry of Plantations is in the process of finalising a private-public partnership in this regard. The Minister and officials arrived at a consensus to pursue different business models to promote ceylon Tea in Iraq so that Ceylon Tea will regain its lead in the Iraqi market.

Tea Board Chairman Ratnayake briefed the Minister on the initiatives of Sri Lanka Tea Board to ensure the quality of the Sri Lankan tea exports.

Athukorala said that the Tea Cluster has invested Rs. 7 million on pesticide residue analytical studies. The research is being championed by the Sri Lanka Tea Research Institute stamping another mark of quality for Ceylon Tea.