Industry Has a Bright Future-Analyst By Dinouk Colombage Tea prices at the Colombo auctions have increased after the weakening of the rupee and demand high. “Tea prices have seen an increase due to the rupee devaluation, however, there has been no change to the level of demand,”  Oshan de Silva, marketing executive of Forbes and ...

By Cheranka Mendis The volatility in Middle Eastern markets, coupled with the increasing issue of low quality due to competition and increasing costs, has placed the local tea industry in a big fix, which could, if unattended, immediately mark the end of a Sri Lankan legacy in four to five years. Despite Sri Lankan tea ...

Industry calls for higher productivity, new market development to ride out uncertainties Tea industry stakeholders say the industry needs to urgently improve productivity and generate new markets, as volatility in major Middle Eastern markets continue to dampen tea export earnings.   While there is strong demand for tea in global markets, price increases for Ceylon ...

By Elmo Leonard Sri Lanka’s mid-February dual hike of diesel by 37 percent and electricity for industry by 15 percent sent shock waves through the gamut of the island’s tea industry. As Sri Lanka celebrates 145 years of commercial tea plantations this year, the government’s boast is that the industry sustains 2 million of its population, directly and indirectly. The brag was echoed by Minister of ...

MJF Group Director Operations Malik J. Fernando has called for a Master Plan for the plantation sector. In a press statement issued this week, Fernando says an industry-wide Master Plan is required for Sri Lanka’s 150-year-old plantation industry to realign itself with internal and external changes and to remain competitive. “We need to develop a ...

In business the most difficult part is finding, servicing and retaining markets and market share. In exports, this is even more challenging. The ultimate in value addition is brand marketing. The optimum return in global business is achieved by the growth and development of brands. The national economy where the brand is owned has a ...