Former Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) chairman Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda said Sri Lanka continues to lose and has lost around Rs. 16 billion in export earnings from tea since the ban on glyphosate came into effect.
He said, “We would have had around 20 to 25 million more kilograms of tea last year if not for the weedicide ban which has caused an enormous loss to the country. I hope the Cabinet will take the right decision about the ban as it is causing enormous damage to the economy.”
According to Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake, a decision on the weedicide ban will be taken by the Cabinet early next week which is likely to lift the ban on the weed-killer.
The ban on the import of glyphosate came into effect in 2015 under the Import and Export Control Act as concerns were raised by environmentalists that it could cause kidney disease. The weed-killer as claimed by environmentalist is responsible for a large number of deaths of farmers in the country.
“This is the worst decision taken with regard to the tea industry so far and the damage is enormous,” Dr. Pethyagoda said.
Plantations had to resort to the use of MCPA as an alternative which is more injurious to health. Japan placed a maximum residue level of 0.01ppm on MCPA acceptable in made tea.
“The ban on glyphosate is nonsense as it is being accepted and used in more than 190 countries. It is only about five countries that have banned its use. Aren’t people in the countries that use the weed killer affected by it,” the Minister queried.
Referring to the tea adulteration issue, Dr. Pethiyagoda said the adulteration issue is now history and with the current technology, contamination of tea with any substance could be detected within five minutes.
Adding any substance during the production process of tea is illegal.
The new chairman of SLTB will not have to worry much as detections could be carried out effectively and the culprits brought to book.
However, when queried about what action would be taken about the 53 people who were found to be adding sugar to tea in the manufacturing process, the minister said a decision will be taken considering the social and economic issues of the factories in which adulteration was carried out.
Adulteration of tea has taken place since the 1800s. Adulterated tea contains chemicals or additives which for reasons do not belong to tea as distinct from flavours. Adulterants are generally added to tea to reduce manufacturing costs, sell at higher prices or deceive the consumer .
While praising the outgoing head of the SLTB to the hilt, the Minister said Dr. Pethiyagoda played an invaluable role during his short stint, to uplift the industry and the image of Ceylon Tea in the global market said the new chief of the tea industry regulator will have to take on from where Dr. Pethiyagoda stopped and carry out the task in a bold, innovative and rational manner.
Dr. Pethiyagoda stepped down as the head of SLTB last month to continue his academic work. On many a occasion he had said that cutting through bureaucratic red tape was a huge challenge during his tenure which lasted for only two and half years.
Well known business personality, Lucille Wijewardena has been appointed as the Chairman of the SLTB.
“When Dr. Pethiyagoda and myself took over the SLTB and the Plantations Ministry in 2015, tea production and prices had dropped to below 300 million kgs and the price to around Rs. 350 per kg. Production rose to 307 million kgs while the price shot up to Rs. 650 in 2017,” the Minister said.
Tea production in 2016 was 292 million kgs and the price per kg was around Rs. 473 in 2016.
The minister said the Russian issue is now over, but it would have continued for another five to six months if not for the role played by stakeholders in getting the temporary ban on Sri Lankan tea to Russia lifted.
“The Ministry along with the regulator will focus on research and development to increase the export of high quality tea and enhance the global market share,” the Minister said.
The plantation ministry targets a production of 320 million kgs of tea and an export income of US$ 1.65 billion this year. The highest tea export income of US$ 1.63 billion was recorded in 2014. Export earnings last year was US$ 1.5 billion.
Embarking on the tea promotion campaign, the SLTB awarded a Rs. 219 million contract to Dentsu Grant to begin the global marketing campaign for Ceylon Tea.
The campaign rolled out for a three-year period aims at re-establishing the premium status of Ceylon Tea in 12 markets and reinforce its association with the lion logo, the symbol of premium quality.
Ceylon Tea has been cherished by tea connoisseurs all over the world for over 150 years and continues to attract a premium price in the global market being among the top five exports for the country.
However, the growth of the market share of Ceylon Te has been curtailed due to the rapidly evolving global consumer preference and aggressive marketing by the beverage industry.
“To sustain and grow the Ceylon Tea market share, we need aggressive marketing to attract new consumers and compete in the beverage market,” the Minister said.
The campaign will also link the Ceylon Tea brand with Sri Lanka as the country of origin and support the nation branding initiative of the government.
“The challenge for the media agency Dentsu Grant is to plan and implement a well thought out strategic media campaign that will reach the diverse but carefully targettted audience within the 12 countries,” Dr. Pethiyagoda said.
With over 60 years of experience in working with local and international brands, Dentsu Grant has helped brands that are household names today.
Dentsu Grant Chairman Neela Marikkar said that reaching consumers in an innovative and engaging manner is an art in a digital world. “With our strong digital and media capabilities, bespoke data mining tools and in depth consumer understanding built over the years, we are confident in rebuilding the Ceylon Tea brand.”
Sri Lanka is the largest exporter of Black Orthodox tea in the world, accounting for around 6.2 percent of the world’s tea production. It has a share of around 16.9 percent in global tea exports.