Tea leaf crosses borders
View(s):With tea factories running under capacity due to a lack of availability of tea, factory owners are constantly pressed with concerns that growers are selling their produce out of their district, violating the rules.
Former Tea Factory Owners Association President Harith Ranasinghe told the Business Times that this has been a constant complaint over the past years and this year the factories are running under capacity as growers sell their produce outside of the districts.
He noted that due to price discrepancies between districts growers are usually moving out to factories that pay a higher price.
Factory owner and former planter Jivaka Atapattu said that there is a law where you cannot supply outside your district and that people cannot take leaf outside but it is happening. Due to an over capacity of tea factories in areas like Galle and Matara areas there is a shortage of bought leaf, he said. He noted as a result of these issues eventually factories will have to close down and there will only be a handful of factories.
Meanwhile Mr. Ranasinghe also pointed out that this time they have not been given any fertiliser or pesticide.
The industry has requested authorities to provide them with fourth generation fertiliser which though expensive yields better results. This type of fertiliser is said to ensure the optimum usage of fertiliser.
At the moment he noted people are getting desperate and are likely to abandon the sector since the expenditure is high and all other incremental costs relating to firewood and bags have increased, he said.
Mr. Ranasinghe pointed out that they have invested in factories by obtaining loans from banks, as such they are running into debt.
The former association head noted that with the onset of the monsoon fertiliser has to be added to ensure that they reap a maximum crop otherwise there will not be any opportunity for the industry to grow.