Will Sri Lanka Plant Twenty Million Tea saplings This Year As Promised in Dec 2020
Even though Tea has got a history of more than 5000 years, Ceylon Tea coming from the resplendent island nation Sri Lanka has got a short history of 153 years. Since the initiation of commercial tea cultivation in Sri Lanka by Scottish planter James Taylor, eventually this fine tea became one of the most favorite teas among tea lovers all over the globe. By the way, as Daily News had reported, will Sri Lanka plant Twenty million tea saplings in 2021 to raise national tea production ? Company Estate Reforms, Tea and Rubber Estates Related Crops Cultivation and Factories Modernization and Tea and Rubber Export Promotion State Minister Kanaka Herath mentioned this to Daily News in Dec 2020.
The state minister mentioned that national tea production should be increased, since it has been plunging since 2015. “Therefore, the State Ministry is assisting the private sector to set up 500 tea nurseries to get 25 million saplings annually,” he said. He was addressing the gathering after providing financial assistance and water pumps to new tea nurseries in the Kandy District. The Tea Small Holdings Development Authority (TSHDA) organised the ceremony in this regard. It was held under the theme ‘A Revival of the Golden Leaf’ (Ran Dallata Nawodayak) at the Red Cross (ICRC) International Committee in Kandy on Monday. The State Minister said that the Government will buy the tea plants at Rs. 26 each from the nursery owners.
“Five hundred tea planters will be provided with cash and water pumps. The President knows the value of the tea sector and has focused on it with a vision of prosperity,” the state Minister said.
Mr. Herath said that the export industry collapsed in the COVID epidemic and the foreign exchange that flowed into the country from the Tea Industry also dried up.
He said the tea production had collapsed over the past five years from 340 million kilograms in 2014 to 290 million kilograms. The drought also severely affected this year’s tea production, he said. State Minister Herath said that about 75 per cent of the tea production comes from small tea estates. He said that plans are afoot to increase tea production in the next five years.
With the increasing demand for tea during pandemic era, it’s important to increase tea crop by maintaining the premium quality of Ceylon Tea. Let’s keep an eye on how this project progresses.
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