CTTA Chairman welcomes formation of International Tea Producers Forum

Friday, 1 February 2013 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

“As the Chairman of the apex body of the tea industry of Sri Lanka, the Colombo Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA), I acknowledge, with immense satisfaction, the formation of the International Tea Producers’ Forum (ITPF), comprising seven of the largest tea producing countries in the world,” said CTTA Chairman Jayantha Keragala. “For many decades, repeated endeavours have been made to establish such a Forum, without success.

It is, therefore, most gratifying that it was on the initiative of Sri Lanka that this was finally accomplished. For this, the Minister of Plantation Industries, Mahinda Samarasinghe, must be commended for his vision, ingenuity and resolve. Justifiably, the privilege of hosting the first Secretariat of the Forum has devolved upon the Sri Lanka Tea Board, which is estimably equipped to undertake such a responsibility and guide it to maturity.” Keragala further stated that the ITPF has been a long felt need and will enable the fraternity of tea producers to cooperate in a multitude of producer related aspects and arrive at consensual propositions, which will benefit the global tea industry as a whole.

Although Sri Lanka is not the largest producer of tea and features only in the fourth position, of all the producing countries, the tea industry of Sri Lanka has the greatest impact on the economy and population of its country. It is not fully appreciated that Sri Lanka’s tea industry supports approximately 20 per cent of the country’s population, through direct and indirect employment, out-sourcing and dependent families. The small holder sector, an industry stakeholder created, in the main, as a consequence of the Land Reform Act implemented in 1975, accounts for two million individuals. The corporate plantation sector has one million people residing on its properties, with instances of as many as four members of a single family provided employment within the sector. The private factory, export and broking sectors, together with other ancillary industries, such as shipping, transport, printing/packaging, etc., in combination, provide support to a further over one million persons. Consequently, approximately 4.3 million of a total population of 22 million obtain their livelihood from the tea industry.

Consequently, it is not inappropriate that the mantle of prime mover in this significant undertaking should have been conferred upon Sri Lanka.