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Drought dries up the ‘two leaves and a bud’
Januka Rangoda has seen no leaf growth this year in his small tea plantation at Imaduwa in the Galle district, and his average monthly production of 700kg per acre has fallen to 300kg.
Mr Rangoda is among thousands of low country tea small-holders in Galle, Matara, Ratnapura and Kalutara who are experiencing heavy losses due to extreme warm weather conditions and shortage of rainfall.
“The usual lifespan of a tea plant is about 20 years. In our areas most of the tea planters went in for re-planting a few years ago. It takes about two to three years for a bush to be ready for harvesting. Unfortunately this weather delayed the growth and small-holders are in real difficulty with no new leaves sprouting. This will be a gloomy New Year for many of us,” he said.
For the past three months, tea-plucking has been limited to one harvest a month rather than on the normal weekly basis.
Sri Lanka Federation of Tea Small Holder Development Societies Chairman, Neville Ratnayake, told the Sunday Times that while warm weather is usual for February this year there has been a protracted dry spell that will result in long-term damage to low-grown tea plantations.
“At present there won’t be a shortage as the old stocks are being cleared but from end of April and mid-May there will be a noticeable shortage and this could affect the overseas market,” he said.
M.A.S. Jayasumana
He said most tea small-holders are from the low country where 53 per cent of tea production comes.
There are 150,000 small-holders in Ratnapura, 90,000 in Galle and 65,000 in Matara.
“There is a huge demand for low country tea due to its strong flavour. The overseas market for low country tea is mainly the Middle East,” he said.
Mr. Ratnayake said that if the heat continues, especially in Galle and Ratnapura, financial aid for planters in small-holdings will be sought from the Ministry of Plantation.
The Sunday Times learns factories that used to operate throughout the week now run only ton hree days a week. Small-holders also grieve over not being able to give their employees the traditional Avurudu money
M.A.S. Jayasumana
gifts this New Year.
Harith Ranasinghe, who owns a tea factory in Thalgampola, Galle district said, “There was a good demand for our flavoured tea and special tea from Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. But now the prices have gone done by 20 per cent. Previously, raw tea leaves were sold at Rs. 83-90 a kilo. Now the price has gone down to Rs.70-75.”
The Sri Lanka Tea Board’s Galle District Assistant Commissioner M.A.S. Jayasumana said tea cultivation had gone down by 40 per cent due to drought. He was hopeful that if said if normal monsoon rains came in the next few months annual production would not be affected.
Pix and additional reporting by Unawatuna correspondent D.G.Sugathapala