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Plans to prop up tea industry

The government is making plans to prop up the tea industry in case war breaks out in the Gulf, "but the crunch has not yet come," Plantation Industries Minister Lakshman Kiriella told the Daily News last night.

The Minister met with industry leaders yesterday to discuss ways the government could help if war breaks out in the Gulf affecting tea exports.

The Gulf countries constitute one of the country's biggest markets for tea and shippers worry that if there is fighting sea-lanes in the region could be blocked shutting down access.

Kiriella said he wants to meet "all the stakeholders in the tea industry in Sri Lanka," so that proper contingency plans could be made in the event of a war.

"Primarily they want an easier line of credit, and deferments on interest payments," Kiriella said.

"This is not the first time we have had to deal with a situation like this. In the first Gulf war as well we gave relief to the tea industry to come out of that temporary situation," he said.

Representatives from all the stakeholders will meet the minister on February 5 for discussions. "We want to have a plan ready if the problem arises. Otherwise we will be wasting time on negotiations," Kiriella added.

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