Aggressive campaign to retain top tea rating

Rasika SOMARATHNA

Sri Lanka intends to retain its top rating in global tea markets in the face of stiff competition by increasing output through innovative agricultural means plus a US $ 50 million propaganda campaign locally and internationally over five years to boost its image.

Plantations Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has advised authorities to make available quality tea at affordable prices in local markets instead of the cheap tea dust.

The authorities will launch a propaganda blitz, under the Minister’s guidance equally distributed over a five year period both locally and internationally with an annual budget of US $ 10 million to propagate the prestigious brand name the Finest Ceylon Tea - The Best in the World.

The entire cost of this campaign is to be borne by tea exporters. According to the Ministry sources, Minister Samarasinghe recently ordered officials to look into the possibility of producing fertilizer and soil nutrients in accordance with varying soil varieties in different parts of the country.

The Minister has directed authorities to produce varieties of fertilizer suitable for different soil variations experienced around the country.

The new fertilizer is expected to be distributed among tea small holders who account for 74 percent of the country’s tea production. This is to be enacted under the subsidized scheme introduced through the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ The Tea Shakthi Fertilizer program.

Authorities target a 50 per cent increase in production by applying such innovative agricultural means to supplement optimal growth.

According to Ministry sources Sri Lanka expects to reach the 350 MT plus target in exports at the end of the year increasing its output from 289 MT last year.

Sri Lanka’s stature as the number one tea exporter in the world has faced stiff competition in recent times from the emergence of Kenya, India and China.