News
Lankan tea in a soup as refuse tea becomes big organised racket
The illicit export of refuse tea (sweepings) has become a large scale, organised racket and the Tea Board is facing an uphill task to protect the image of Sri Lanka’s internationally renowned ‘Ceylon Tea’.
Every year more than 300,000 kilos of refuse tea is detected in raids at warehouses, carried out mainly by the Special Task Force (STF), while tens of thousands of kilos of more refuse tea enters the local market or is smuggled overseas.
In a move to protect the international image of ‘Ceylon Tea’ the Sri Lanka Tea Board has decided to set up with immediate effect a unit that would work alongside Customs officials to detect tea mixed with the refuse or refuse tea alone being smuggled out in bulk quantities.
Tea Board Chairman Rohan Pethiyagoda told the Sunday Times, that two officials would work round the clock to check the samples and if they had doubts the Tea Board would carry out further inspections. Until the checks are completed the containers will be held back.
“We fear that our image would be tarnished if refuse tea continues to be exported,” he said.
He said the Board would also look at ways to prevent refuse tea entering the local market. “We will discuss the matter with tea factories and work out a mechanism,” Mr. Pethiyagoda said.
Recent raids at warehouses in Wellampitiya (above) and Gothatuwa (right)
Since January 2012 to date, in a string of raids, the Special Task Force (STF) has detected nearly two million kilos of refuse tea. Deputy Inspector General Ranjith Perera, who heads the STF, told the Sunday Times that the business of refuse tea had turned into a large scale well organised racket.
He said refuse tea is even being mixed into ‘tea bags’ making detection difficult.
DIG Perera said one of the biggest detections for this year was made two weeks ago when the STF seized 94,000 kilos of refuse tea to be exported under the label ‘Pure Ceylon Black Tea’ to Iraq and Kuwait.
The detection was made in a warehouse in Sapugaskanda. Boxes containing ten kilos of tea each were ready to be dispatched to the Port while one had already been sent.
For this year alone the STF detected 244,375 kilos of refuse tea, with the biggest stock of 115,750 kilos being seized last month. In June, 78,000 kilos of refuse tea was detected with most being found in a warehouse in Kotahena.
STF Inspector Nadeeka Silva told the Sunday Times that investigations have revealed those involved in exporting refuse tea or blended tea earn an estimated Rs 500,000 from a container.
He said some traders were misusing the facility where they can purchase a certain per cent of tea that is disposed of.
He said this refuse tea should ideally be used for fertiliser or be burnt, but some stocks reach the markets as tea for consumption.
The inspector said investigations have revealed the modus operandi of those who export refuse tea. One way was roasting sugar and dissolving it and mixing it with the tea to add colour or powdering the tea dust and blending it with good tea. In addition, chemicals or colourings are added to dust tea.
IP Silva added that at least 25 separate groups around the country were involved in this illegal trade.
Plantation Industries Ministry secretary Upali Marasinghe said in the future a sticker with special security features would be stuck on packeted tea meant for export.
He said they will also hold discussions with factory owners on how to prevent refuse tea reaching outside traders. “We hope to intensify raids on warehouses hoarding refuse tea and strengthen laws regarding this,” he added.