Rs 5 b fund to promote Lankan tea worldwide
Rasika Somarathna
The Plantation Industries Ministry is in the process of setting up a
Rs 5 billion fund to promote Sri Lankan tea worldwide.
Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said the
programme aiming to popularise the Ceylon tea brand globally, will
promote awareness among the consumers on Sri Lankan tea.
It will also include many other promotional activities.
Rs 2.5 billion has already been collected with the help of tea
exporters, the minister said.
Promotional activities aim to raise the demand for Sri Lankan tea in
the world market and upgrade the standard of Sri Lankan tea,
Samarasinghe said.
Speaking on plans to further develop the industry, he said tea
exports fetch around Rs,1.5 billion annually in foreign revenue and the
government intends to increase this to reach Rs 3 to Rs 4 billion in the
future.
Tea accounts for 24 percent of Sri Lanka’s export income. Tea also
directly and indirectly help a large number of people to earn a
livelihood.
There are over 400,000 tea smallholders in the country who account
for 76 percent of the national tea output.
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