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Widespread evening showers are reported from practically all planting districts. Mornings are comparatively clear with bright sunlight. These are ideal conditions that will generate the tea crop. The mid-year rush in on and the Ceylon Tea Traders Association (CTTA) will be hard-pressed to organise sale quantities so as to prevent a backlog building up.

Sale quantities have now increased to over six million kilos and there is a likelihood that these figures could increase further when rush crops start to invade Colombo sales. There has been a large quantity of teas withdrawn during the past few weeks for want of suitable bids. They will have to be re-sold at subsequent sales, thereby artificially inflating weekly sale offerings. What is still more important is that it tends to give a false impression to the actual happenings at the market place. The averages will not reflect the true state of the market. Green leaf payments will be calculated on an inflated average. The trade faced a similar situation about this time last year when there were heavy withdrawals. When they were ultimately sold the market took a violent dip. It took almost two months for the situation to be corrected. Let us be conscious of these factors when facing this year's rush.

With the rush now on, it is best that the factory owners in the low grown areas in particular, brace themselves against a possible run-down in their manufacturing standards. The time is opportune to insist on an improved standard of the raw-material, to ensure that proper standards are maintained. A drop in this regard is bound to widen the price concertina between the best and the others. The lower end of the market is bound to suffer.

The cropping patterns of the major tea growers have failed to match up to last year's performances, and at the conclusion of the year, the anticipated global increase may not materialise. Last year's increase may have become absorbed, and future tea prices will be determined purely on the supply demand equation. It is however, far too early to predict the world crop situation just yet.

A permanent dark cloud seems to hang over Sri Lanka's tea industry. We may be the largest tea exporters in the world, but the costs involved in producing these teas are the highest in the world. It is mainly due to low productivity of the workforce. This situation has to be corrected. Under these circumstances, the only way for produces to face this most unfortunate situation is to increase yields.

Our yields are fairly satisfactory. Sri Lanka has now crossed the magical 300 million kg mark in tea production. In our search for better planting material, we should not neglect the quality aspect on which the marketing potential of our teas hinges on.

This is one aspect that needs careful consideration. It is the unified opinion among senior tea men that there has been a let up in this regard. It is easily said and done, but unfortunately, cutting down costs seem to the only fixation among producers today. In their bid to circumvent this problem, the single convincing solution seems to be to increase crops. Let us strike a balance and not let Sri Lanka teas lose its glitter in world markets.

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