Eight factories of Malwatte Valley Plantation upgraded

Eight of the eleven operational of Malwatte Valley Plantation PLC factories have been upgraded to ISO 22000 standards, according to the annual report of 2008.

"All tea factories are fully equipped and geared to manufacture both Low Grown and High Grown types improving our capability of capitalizing on variable market demands.

The company achieved 230 Top Prices in the year under review, which includes an all time record for Uva medium BOP achieved by Bambagalla Uva estate," said Chairman Malwatte Valley Plantation PLC, W.L. Bogtrstra.

"According to statistics 2008 was again a good year for Sri Lankan rubber due to the high rubber prices mid year as a result of escalating oil prices and the vibrant economies of the giants' China and India.

The weather was not conducive to harvest the maximum crop but the lower supply helped to boost prices in Sri Lanka. This compensated for the drop in the rubber crop harvest," he said.

The biggest obstacle to maximising crop on rubber estates is the acute shortage of skilled tappers resulting in loss of crop and poor tapping standards. The crop was also lost on estates due to agitation by unions and workers for nearly a month during the high cropping period.

An NSA of Rs. 231.59 per kg combined with a controlled Cost of Production (COP) at Rs. 110.45 enabled the rubber sector to make a profit of Rs. 121.14 per kg or Rs. 205.72 million for 2008 at estate level.

This was despite the economic crisis and global cash crunch resulting in low demand for rubber in the last quarter of the year, especially for the manufacture of tyres.

"There was a marginal variance in tea production when compared to 2007.