|
||||
|
Doctors
can promote health benefits of tea Tea marketers
hope to target medical professionals in order to disseminate information
about the medicinal properties of tea among their patients, Tea
Board chairman Ronnie Weerakoon said. "Our aim
is not to market tea as a medicinal beverage but as a healthy, refreshing
drink," he told a news conference. "We also want to show
that tea is not a sick or old person's drink but rather a refreshing
beverage." Recent research
has revealed that drinking tea can substantially reduce the risk
of heart disease and cancer and also helps maintain oral hygiene
as it contains fluoride. "For a
long time tea has been marketed as a beverage only without promoting
its health benefits," Weerakoon said. Mahen Dayanada,
chairman of the Ceylon Tea Traders' Association, said that demand
for tea from international consumers was growing, resulting in higher
prices at the auctions, following the publication of scientific
evidence about the health benefits of tea drinking. "Our aim
is to make tea the most popular beverage by marketing it on the
basis of its health benefits," he said. The industry wants
tea to have the "largest share of the throat" compared
with coffee, alcohol and colas. Mohan Jacobs,
vice chairman of the Colombo Brokers' Association, said tea exports
to Japan had increased following the growing evidence of its health
benefits. Japanese now
consider tea to be their number two beverage, second only to water,
he said Tea is also
the main ingredient in facials and face masks in Japan, he added.
Ajith Gunatileke,
chairman of the Tea Exporters' Association, said tea production
and exports were on the rise this year. Production is forecast to
exceed 300 million kg this year. Sri Lanka is
also the only country among the major tea producers to record an
increase in production this year. Tea production
has been increasing since 1994 with the highest ever tea output
of 305 million kg recorded in 2000, of which around 295 million
kg were exported. Production
dipped last year but is seen picking up again this year, Tea Board's
Weerakoon said. All possible
steps are being taken to prevent contaminated tea from entering
the market, Weerakoon said. Dayananda of
the CTTA called for firm action to deal with the sale of adulterated
teas in the local market. Adulterated
tea is sometimes sold in areas like Gampaha, Ambalangoda and certain
parts of the Pettah. Dayananda said that the problem needs a firm political stand but that it was also up to consumers to stick to good brands. (Rajika) Coconut
cultivators oppose imports Denzil Aponso,
President of the Coconut Growers' Association, called for a "massive"
rehabilitation programme to rejuvenate the coconut industry. The poor crops
were not just a result of the lagged effects of drought, he said. Ageing trees,
degraded soils and neglect of land as a result of previous periods
of poor prices all contributed to the poor crop, he said. Coconut based
export industries such as desiccated coconut and activated carbon
were lobbying for fresh nut imports to bring down prices and make
more raw material available. This could
cause a glut and bring prices down below production costs as happened
in 2000, Aponso warned. Imports of
nuts would affect the income of coconut growers, he said. Better domestic
use of coconut or less waste would make available more raw material
for the export industries, he said. Profit margins kept by middlemen are as high as Rs. 6-7 a nut owing to a 'monopoly' maintained by retailers and 'thugs' who do not allow newcomers to the market, Aponso also said. EDB
export promotion campaign a success The high-value
earners were gems and jewellery, tea and herbal teas, coir products,
wooden toys, ayurvedic products. The number of trade inquiries received
were 542 while Ms. L.R. Thudugala, Director, Marketing of the EDB
said a further evaluation would be done in six months to ascertain
further developments on the inquiries. The exhibition
was organised by the EDB in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Embassy
in Japan and the assistance of the Japanese external organisation,
JETRO. In the tea
sector orders were for tea bags, green tea in bulk, reed tea packs,
tea cans, flavoured tea, bulk tea, herbal tea and ayurvedic teas.
Many companies showed an interest in obtaining private labelled
tea bags containing Ceylon tea. Private labelled tea bags will carry
the importing company name with the label pure Ceylon tea and the
Lion logo. Orders for
coco peat bails, coir fibre tapes, deodorizers in fruit shapes,
tawashi brushes, latex disposable gloves and foot wipers have been
concluded and more orders are being negotiated in the coir sector
for fibre mats and pots, sawdust, nursery pots, sheets, landscape
products, charcoal, tawashi brushes, original design on coir mats/foot
wiper, coconut fibre brooms and tiles. In the rubber
products sector orders are under negotiation for automotive parts
such as engine mounts, oil seals and diaphragms. Rubber rollers
for printing and industrial machines, trolley wheels, rubber soap
trays, hot water bottles, bath mats, rubber gaskets, T-mouldings,
rubber wiper blades, household and industrial rubber mats are other
rubber products under negotiation. An order has been received for
latex disposable gloves. In the apparel
sector orders are under negotiation for shirts, winter clothes,
frocks, blouses, sweat shirts, underwear and foundation garments,
lingerie, ladies' summer wear, fleece garments, children's items,
pants and shorts, the EDB said. It said many companies were interested in software products, outsourcing of programmes, E-solutions, software development services and establishment of joint ventures. Prawn
farmers struggle against financial crisis A group of
farmers under the umbrella of the "Aquaculture Consortium"
said in a statement that more than 80 percent of the legitimate
prawn farmers operating in this region are facing a major crisis
due to severe environmental pollution caused by a handful of illegal
prawn farmers in the area. The group said
unauthorised persons have encroached on state reserves and engaged
in prawn farming, damaging the environment and ruining the resources
of other farmers. Most legitimate
farmers are unable to repay loans with banks resorting to foreclosures.
Banking authorities have told farmers they are no longer in a position
to withhold action against their debtors. The debt burden
of the farmers - around Rs. 650 million with interest - has ballooned
to Rs. 1.4 billion this year, the group said in a statement. Farmers have
been negotiating a rehabilitation and re-structuring plan together
with authorities and officials like the Ministry of Fisheries and
Ocean Resources, NARA, the North-Western Provincial Council, the
BOI and R. Paskaralingam, advisor to the prime minister. A cabinet paper
has been presented to help solve some of the problems but there
has been little movement beyond that. The group has
appealed to the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry
of Sri Lanka to intervene in the matter and assist them to find
at least a temporary solution. |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
