News Sri Lankan Tea Industry
The tea manufacture is of paramount importance to Sri Lanka’s economy. This manufacture too forms a pregnant role of British history together with is all the same primal to British civilization together with tradition. Using the Sri Lanka-UK relationship, this newspaper explores the declining competitiveness of Sri Lanka’s tea manufacture equally an event of shifting competitive payoff inwards agribusiness. Increasing contest from countries such equally Kenya, Republic of Republic of India together with Republic of Indonesia has resulted inwards reduced marketplace part together with depression prices inwards the international market. This newspaper identifies the shortcomings inwards the existing marketplace strategies used past times Sri Lanka together with explores options available for such commodity producers to larn globally to a greater extent than competitive through agency other than simply increased volumes together with depression prices.
The full general long-term tendency inwards tea prices has been downward since 1954 except for strange periods of increment which convey non been sustained. Willsmer (1982) suggests that the need for tea, at to the lowest degree inwards the principal consuming countries, is relatively inelastic. Thus, increases inwards the quantity of tea entering footing merchandise convey been discipline to to a greater extent than than proportionate falls inwards price. However inwards 2004, the Food together with Agriculture Organisation’s composite price, equally a footing cost indicator for tea, increased past times 2%. Prices inwards 2004 opened
at US$ 1.56 per kg inwards Jan together with shut at US$ 1.73 per kg inwards Dec (Kasturisinghe 2005).
World tea production continued to achieve novel highs inwards 2004 amongst output growing past times 2% to achieve an estimated 3.2 ane K m tonnes. The expansion was due mainly to the increases recorded inwards Turkey, China, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka together with Republic of Indonesia (Kasturisinghe 2005).
World tea exports increased past times 4.4% inwards 2004 to 1.47 ane K m tonnes amongst all major exporters registering a rise, according to a written report released ahead of the coming together of the IGG on Tea inwards Bali inwards July 2005. Sri Lanka is expected to increment exports past times 1.2% annually to achieve 330,000 tonnes past times 2014 together with maintain to describe of piece of work concern human relationship for 25% of the global full (The Island 2005).
The importance of the Tea Industry to Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan tea manufacture is of paramount importance to the country’s economy. It contributes almost 13% to the full export profits of the Blue Planet together with is the highest cyberspace unusual central generator. In 2004, tea accounted for 13% of Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports together with earned US$ 810 million. Tea is the 3rd largest agricultural manufacture inwards Sri Lanka together with represented 2% of overall gross domestic product inwards 2005. The manufacture too generates straight together with indirect occupation for over 1 ane K m people (Central Bank of Sri Lanka 2005; SLTB
2005a)
The Global Position
Sri Lanka is the world’s minute largest tea exporter amongst a 19.2 percentage global export marketplace part inwards 2005. In 2004 Kenya, which produces mainly CTC1 tea surpassed Sri Lanka equally the largest exporter, together with held 22.5 percentage of the global export marketplace inwards 2005. Total footing production inwards 2004 was 3.2 ane K m tonnes amongst Sri Lanka’s part equally the 4th largest producer existence 10%. About 44% of footing production is CTC tea together with 31% Orthodox tea, amongst light-green tea making upward the balance. Sri Lanka competes mainly inwards the
orthodox tea marketplace where it has a 32% marketplace part together with is the leading producer (SLTB 2005a).
Ceylon Tea
Sri Lanka produces tea throughout the year. The vi regions (Nuwara Eliya, Uda Pussellawa, Uva, Dimbulla, Ruhuna, Kandy) of differing agro-climatic weather condition inwards the Blue Planet offering a hit of diversified speciality teas to conform a hit of consumer tastes together with lifestyles. The growing areas are mainly concentrated inwards the primal highlands together with southern inland areas of the isle nurtured past times splendid basic component weather condition for tea production. These areas are broadly grouped nether 3 elevations, amongst “high growns” ranging from 1200m upwards, “medium growns” roofing betwixt 600m to 1200m together with “low growns” from body of body of water grade upward to 600m. Teas grown inwards these elevations are dissimilar from ane roughly other inwards their liquoring properties together with the appearance of leaf. The variety inwards specialities has been the ability together with forcefulness of the tea manufacture inwards Sri Lanka. Like other nutrient together with drinkable categories (Poole, Martinez & Gimenez 2007), the tea “category” require non live regarded equally a commodity, but equally a hit of distinct products amenable to differentiation inwards the market. This variety is non exploited adequately to its advantage.