Sri Lanka’s tea growers to receive fertilizer under concessionary scheme
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Plantation has taken steps to introduce a concessionary scheme to provide fertilizer to tea growers since traders are currently selling fertilizer at high prices.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Plantation Dr. Ramesh Pathirana has reportedly stated during a discussion at his ministry that the crisis situation which arose with the ban on the importation of chemical fertilizers has now eased to a certain extent, but that the market price of fertilizer has risen to an unbearable level.
“Therefore, considering the requests received from various quarters to provide fertilizer under a concessionary scheme, the Government has decided to provide 40 kilos (kg) of fertilizer for every 100 kg of tea leaves,” the Minister has said at the discussion.
“We have received the ordered chemical fertilizers, but the traders are selling the fertilizers at their own prices. However, by February next year, the fertilizer crisis will be completely resolved and the prices of fertilizers will come down. Till then, the people should be given some relief. That is what we as the Ministry are now intervening for,” he has further noted.
Claiming that the average yield of an acre of tea in Sri Lanka is 200-300 kg of tea leaves, Dr. Pathirana has noted that about 700-800 kg of tea leaves can be harvested from an acre of tea by adding organic components to the soil along with chemical fertilizers. “There has been a clear misuse of chemical fertilizers in our country. Tea yield does not increase due to the over-application of chemical fertilizers. In order to get higher yields, organic components should be added to the soil along with chemical fertilizers.”
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tea industry is on a growth path with revenue earned through tea exports seeing a steady growth further increasing the business potential of the country’s tea industry. Sri Lankan authorities are focused on uplifting and developing the country’s tea sector in a bid to explore the growing business potential in the industry. The many trade agreements as well as concessions enjoyed by the country have also helped boost Sri Lanka’s tea industry. Given the incentives and concessions offered by the government of Sri Lanka to the tea industry, foreign businesses/investors could explore the growing business/investment opportunities in the industry. Interested businesses/investors could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses to explore the growing opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tea industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/05012022/Z_3 |