Face up to global competitors - Minister Dissanayake

SL's international tea sales have gradually declined:

By Rohana Jayalal

Sri Lanka's Tea industry is up against the biggest challenge at present.

While the competing large tea producing countries turn out and export the high quality tea at low prices, Sri Lanka's high quality tea production and export have become more expensive, said Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake at an award ceremony to felicitate employees of the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) at the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management auditorium recently. Sri Lanka's Tea sales have gradually declined in the international market. However, the employees in the tea industry need to be protected and appreciated for their efforts to protect Sri Lanka's brand in the international tea market, the minister said.

The leadership of any institute should give thought to the happiness, emotions and other qualities of its workers to motivate them for a better output.

"I strongly believe that human beings are the key for any organisation to prosper. The leader who can infuse a sense of commitment and motivate his workers by being their brother or friend, is able to move even mountains," the Minister said.

Dissanayake stressed the need for leadership for any enterprise to put together a good team after identifying each person's abilities. As human beings, we like to be appreciated and loved when we perform or do something really difficult. Similarly, there should be ways and means of punishing those who fail to perform their tasks, he said.

Any organisation that wishes to reach the peak, must always motivate and upgrade the status of its employees by stimulating their minds, as the whole organisation can move forward or backwards on how it motivates the employees.

Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman, Rohan Pethiyagoda said that the sweat and blood of the employees over the years helped the Sri Lanka Tea Board attain its present heights and therefore, it was important to respect them.