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By Shirajiv Sirimane

The Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB) had been operating at a less of Rs. 157 million in the last three years, said the Minister of Plantation Industries Lakshman Kiriella.

Speaking at the launch of the 'Jana Tea' at the Ministry he said that novel marketing plans and new overseas markets have enabled the JEDB to make a profit last year. He said that he toured Iraq recently with the Minister of Consumer Affairs Ravi Karunanayake and had discussions to increase trade relations between the two countries. "When I took over the Ministry, Sri Lanka was selling only 5% of tea to Iraq. But we have now successfully negotiated to increase this to over 50%."

He said that 90% of the Sri Lankan's tea exports are to the Gulf and the CIS countries and if a war breaks out in the Gulf, they would be worried. However the Minister did not spell out plans or new marketing strategies towards overcoming this problem.

Kiriella said that last year there was a record yield of tea. "This was despite regular power cuts."

Deputy Minister Naveen Dissanayake said that eight tea estates that are running at a loss will be privatised. "This will stop the bleeding of profits from our Ministry." He said that the Ministry is also hoping to sign joint ventures with private companies for some other tea estates that are not making good profits.

Chairman JEDB Dharshan Jayanetti said that they are launching three new products 'Janatea' 'Navoda' and 'Probodha' to the local market. "The Minister said that it is really difficult to get a good cup of tea for Sri Lankans. Our aim is to provide a good cup of tea at an affordable price by introducing these three brands of tea. This is why we launched these three new brands."

The Chairman said that there is a virgin tea market in the North East and the JEDB is aiming at a 20% market share for these three brands.

He said that for the first time in the local tea market the Board has tied up with the National Lotteries Board and Ceylinco Travels and Tours to give instant cash prizes and return air tickets to India for their customers. "We have also come up with a novel sealing scheme to guarantee the freshness and the quality of our tea."

The Chairman said that the Minister has plans to introduce Tea shops similar to the 'Coffee shop' concept which is commonly seen at five star hotels. "We are also hoping to introduce 'Tea centres' soon."

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