Guaranteed price for green leaf extended till next month; Rs200mn for Tea Shakthi Fund
July 16, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lankan government has decided to extend the guaranteed price of 80 rupees per kilogram of green leaf produced by tea smallholders until this August.
Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal by Plantation Industries Minister Lakshman Kiriella to extend this scheme implemented under the 100 day programme of the government.
Meanwhile the Cabinet has also approved a proposal to allocate 200 million rupees from the General Treasury to the Tea Shakthi Fund.
The purpose of this is to maintain the Tea Shakthi Fund at profit after meeting the requirements such as modernization of factories and supply of future working capital.
It has been identified that if the Tea Shakthi Fund could provide sufficient working capital, and fulfill the tea smallholders’ requirement of upgrading the manufacturing machinery and working practices the Tea Shakthi Fund factories can be made profit making institutions.
The Tea Shakthi Fund which comes under the purview of the Ministry of Plantation Industries has been incorporated under the Act No. 47 of 2000 with the primary objective of strengthening the bargaining power of the Tea Smallholders.
