The cup that cheers

Sri Lanka’s tea industry has every reason to be jubilant, having recorded a revenue surpassing US$ 1 billion last year for the first time in its 141-year history. This is indeed a milestone in the country’s tea industry, one of the mainstays of the economy.

Tea used to be the top dollar earner for the country, but now it has been surpassed by expatriate labour, the apparel industry and possibly the gem and jewellery sector. The fact that tea is fast regaining lost ground is thus a cause for cheer.

This achievement is even more impressive when one considers the factors that adversely affected tea cultivation last year: work stoppages by estate trade unions over wage issues, drought conditions and tough competition from other tea growing countries.

Significantly, the extra revenue was earned through a slightly reduced production.

Another factor that directly or indirectly helped Sri Lanka (and India) is the unrest in Kenya, the world’s leading tea producer. Although the situation there at the moment is bleak, one cannot hope to take the Kenya factor into account in the long term. The tea industry should thus continue the momentum gained by this opening and overtake Kenya.

One of the simplest ways of increasing the income from tea is value addition. The industry is targeting to raise the export of value added tea to 65 per cent from the present 35 per cent. There is a soaring demand for unconventional teas in many markets, which Sri Lanka should strive to penetrate.

The involvement of the packaging industry too is important in this regard, as environmentally conscious customers in many countries look for biodegradable wrapping.

In this context, more emphasis should be laid on organic teas, which are becoming popular among health-conscious individuals the world over. They can command a premium price as well.

Out of the 221,000 hectares on which tea is grown, nearly 50 pr cent are owned by tea smallholders who in turn supply a network of medium-scale factories. They should be given all encouragement and facilities to improve their yield and hence, profits.

We are also encouraged by reports that tea exporting countries are mulling a move to set up an organisation similar to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to safeguard common interests and command better prices. This is a welcome move, as tea producing countries can not only compete against each other but also learn from each other.

Nuclear meltdown

It may seem surprising, but Sri Lanka is one of the first four countries in the world in the newly formed Nuclear Emergency Response Network which will function under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The other three countries are Mexico, the United States and Finland. It is a singular honour that Sri Lanka has become the first Asian country to participate in this exercise which aims to collaborate in coordinating international assistance in case of a radioactive incident or emergency.

This is a step forward in ensuring nuclear safety. The world has seen several horrendous nuclear accidents, the biggest of which so far is Chernobyl. That literally triggered a chain reaction among the member states of the IAEA/UN which has culminated in a nuclear emergency response system.

World reaction to Chernobyl was slow, partly because the authorities tried to cover it up until it could no longer be kept a secret. Another factor was that no country or agency was prepared, in terms of technical knowledge and humanitarian assistance, to face a disaster of that magnitude.

Hopefully, this is exactly what the IAEA’s latest initiative seeks to address. A swift response is needed in the case of emergencies of this nature which have the potential to wipe out hundreds of thousands of people. Proper coordination will be the key. With more members on board, there will be adequate expertise and emergency measures to deal with any situation.

Still, prevention is much better than cure. Today’s nuclear power plants are safer than they ever used to be, but that does not mean they are infallible. Safety and security measures should be strengthened at all civilian nuclear sites and indeed, military ones.

With the rise of terrorism worldwide, Governments are concerned about the possibility of terrorist groups acquiring nuclear weapons through clandestine means. There have been several high-profile arrests of rogue nuclear technologists who sold nuclear secrets to rogue regimes and individuals.

Even a rudimentary nuclear bomb in the wrong hands can devastate a large area, not to mention human lives. Governments must share intelligence on shady groups and terrorist elements who would somehow try to lay their hands on a nuclear device.

The IAEA’s initiative is thus timely and relevant in today’s nuclear-obsessed world. We simply cannot rule out the possibility of a nuclear accident and the activation of an emergency response network could vastly reduce the damage to life and property.