Traders marketing low quality tea to be sued

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

The Plantation Industries Ministry is to take legal action against traders marketing low quality tea both locally and to the international market to protect consumers on the one hand whilst protecting the country's reputation as a provider of quality tea.

Doing away with the current practice of merely warning traders who supply low quality tea, Minister of Plantation Industries D.M.Jayaratne has issued instructions for sterner action in the form of legal prosecution for dumping low quality tea to the market.

According to the prevailing procedure, the Sri Lanka Tea Board analyses tea samples which are handed over by various organisations who are engaged in marketing and producing tea. In addition, the Tea Board analyses some tea samples taken randomly from the local market. In accordance with prevailing procedure, if a sample is found to be of low quality the supplier is only informed about the poor condition of the tea. No action has been taken to remove the low quality tea from the market.

The Minister has pointed out the need for charging the errant traders under the Consumer Protection Act to safeguard consumers. Moreover, the Sri Lankan image for quality tea is tarnished when one provides low quality tea to the foreign market.

"Government organisations have the power to safeguard the customers since no one has a right to play with the health of customers. On the other hand, it is our right to provide the customers with quality tea," Minister Jayaratne said.