More countries fault Ceylon Tea
View(s):Sri Lankan authorities are worried over the concerns raised by a number of other countries pertaining to the residue levels found in Ceylon Tea after Japan in 2017, subjected imports to stringent checks.
Though the re-introduction of glyphosate on the plantations is likely to bring relief during its absence authorities state that even countries like Taiwan and Europe raised issues of maximum residue levels found in teas from Sri Lanka.
Regaining the lost glory of Ceylon Tea has become an issue and authorities have now informed Japan about the re-introduction of the use of glyphosate on the estates.
However, the authorities are still carrying out tests on the residue levels in tea exports resulting in high cost to exporters as the impact of the use of glyphosate would take time.
Tea Board officials told the Business Times that the re-introduction of glyphosate on the plantations was likely to bring hope and some solution to the crisis of residues found in Ceylon Tea shipped to Japan.
Sri Lanka banned the use of glyphosate on agricultural produce three years ago but subsequently in March last year the authorities lifted the ban on tea production.
Meanwhile, authorities note that another key issue pertaining to the testing of sugar in teas has been worked out by the Tea Research Institute (TRI).
They explained that the TRI had established the baseline data to be obtained in a bid to ensure that the authorities could carry out necessary testing of teas produced to detect the sugar added to the product.
The necessary guidelines to carry out such testing would be given out to the industry once the SLTB obtains the required approvals within the next few months.
It was noted that approval needs to be obtained once the boards are appointed that was likely to take place by around next week.
(SD)