Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to China pushes closer collaboration between Fujian and Sri Lanka on tea.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to China, Dr. Palitha Kohona has recently called for better collaboration between Sri Lanka and China on the tea industries of the respective countries.
Addressing the Maritime Silk Road International Tea Culture Forum 2022, Kohona, has reportedly observed that Sri Lanka tea, which is world-renowned Ceylon Cha, probably originated in Fujian, China, has already boasted a tea culture exceeding 2,500 years.
According to reports, like Sri Lanka, Fujian also produced black tea but since the introduction of the tea plant to Sri Lanka 160 years ago it has evolved acclimatising to local conditions producing a delicious brew loved the world over.
Today Fujian, especially Futin, has become the capital of the Silver Tip and Fujian produces $ 2.5 billion worth of silver tips annually. Like in Sri Lanka, the majority of the tea is produced in small holdings in Fujian.
Ambassador Kohona has noted that the rural upliftment and industry modernisation programmes, including modern research and the employment of science, use of better techniques, attractive packaging and sophisticated awareness enhancement by government authorities have resulted in dynamically transforming the industry and also, in the process, eliminating poverty in the rural Fujian tea region.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tea industry was once the main foreign exchange earner to the country. Ceylon Tea brand was also one of the leading tea brands in the international market. However, local authorities are currently working towards Ceylon Tea regaining its top slot in the global market. There is a steady growth in the local tea industry given the increasing prices at the tea auction as well as global prices. Sri Lanka has introduced many incentives to further develop and expand the tea industry along with the development of infrastructure facilities. However, Sri Lanka’s tea industry is on a steady growth path with an increasing business potential. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore confidently explore the growing opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tea industry since the sector has been greatly benefited by the many trade agreements as well as concessions enjoyed by the country.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/19072022/X_2 |