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The Government’s push for quality tea exports over quantity has gathered steam, with over 100 raids nabbing substandard efforts.
The Ministry of Plantation Industries said over 100 tea transport and processing units were raided in 2013 as efforts have been stepped up to deter exports of inferior quality tea. Aimed at ensuring exports of only high quality tea, the regular inspection that was introduced in early 2013 brought to light a total of 122 tea transport and processing units that were involved in unethical practices. Around 200,000 kilos of tea unsuitable for consumption has been destroyed.
The Ministry of Plantations revealed that of the total entities raided, 81 were caught in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence by the Special Task Force (STF) when attempting to transport the final products illegally to other destinations, whereas the remaining 41 were processing tea below the minimum required standards, which is the ISO 3720.
The raids were carried out when the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) was tipped off by reliable sources, officials said.
The tea industry recorded all-time high export revenue of $ 1.54 billion in 2013. Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said last week that it was the regular inspections that helped reach that figure.
“Identifying and rectifying such errors was one of the main reasons we were able to get better prices. We made sure that the tea exported from Sri Lanka is of the best quality,” Samarasinghe said at a press conference last week to highlight the record breaking performance of the tea industry in 2013.
To ensure the industry maintains the momentum, he asserted that emphasis should be greatly towards quality and not quantity.
“It is important to ensure that the quality of tea produced in Sri Lanka is improved and maintained. Only this will allow our teas to fetch higher prices in international markets. I think the most important step we took last year was in making sure quality is enhanced. This is one of the reasons we were able end 2013 with a value of $ 1.54 billion,” noted Samarasinghe.
In addition to the raids, to ensure the quality of tea exported the SLTB also launched the ‘B-leave 60’ program which aims at 60% of the total tea taken for production to be free of post-harvest damage and contamination. To facilitate this effort a series of awareness programs were conducted for green leaf collectors, small holders, and manufacturers.
When questioned on additional measures that would be taken this year to achieve a higher export value through improved quality, Samarasinghe shared that the upcoming global tea promotion campaign would play a key role in this regard.
“The global tea campaign will ensure that people are reminded that Ceylon Tea is the cleanest and the best in the world. Through the campaign we will also promote the ‘Ozone friendly’ logo as Sri Lanka is the first producer country to receive it,” shared Samarasinghe.
The record 2013 export figure reflected a 10%increase over 2012, despite volume shipped being lower at 319.66 million kilos from 319.94 million kilos in 2012.
