CTTA – industry resilient to the challenges ahead

The tea industry has sustained itself in Sri Lanka for nearly 150 years despite several hiccups which adversely impacted on the industry from time to time, says Tyeab Akbarally, Chairman Colombo Tea Traders Association.

“I am optimistic that the industry is resilient enough to survive for several decades to come. The focus for the way forward is to produce superior quality tea and pursue strategies for maximum value addition for the benefit of the country,” he said, adding that enhanced value-addition to Sri Lankan Tea is the ultimate answer to increase the sustainability of the tea industry.
When asked whether more mass market and blending with other teas should be done rather than marketing our ‘own’ tea brand, he said that in the global market, the critical link between the consumer and the product is the brand. “Hence, Sri Lanka has to develop her own international brands to maximize her return from the tea industry,” he said.

He pointed out that the quality, character and flavour which are inherent in Sri Lankan tea, due to agro-climate conditions, are the primary resource base for building brands and that the key issue is to identify how Sri Lanka can satisfy the customers better than competitors in the world market. “In the global market, one of the critical factors to command a premium price for a particular product is its distinct feature. If we dilute the distinctive image of Ceylon Tea by blending Ceylon Teas with foreign teas, the consumers bond to Ceylon Teas will be imperilled,” he noted.

On adding value to the ethical factor of tea that is being produced in the country, he said: “Sri Lankan teas are presently fetching premium prices in the world market. The tea prices are governed by the inter play of supply and demand. The fact that Sri Lankan teas are pesticide-free would have been factored into the world demand for our teas. However, Sri Lanka cannot unilaterally fix export prices for her teas.”

When asked whether it was a good thing to blend our teas with other origin teas and sell to the world as ‘PURE CEYLON TEA’, Akbarally said the Sri Lanka Tea Board has stringent mechanisms to monitor and ensure that packets labelled as “Pure Ceylon Tea” contain only Pure Ceylon Tea and not mixed with other origin tea. “I do not think that the labelling regulations are being violated in Sri Lanka,” he added.

He said that companies such as Lipton’s are reputed multinationals and is one of Sri Lanka’s valued customers. “I do not think that such a reputable company would mislead the tea drinking population by labelling a mix of teas as ‘Pure Ceylon Tea’, he said.