The Private Tea Factory Owners Association this week thanked the President, and other government institutions, for their intervention to alleviate the tea industry crisis.
“The tea industry which is dominated by the rural tea small holder sector benefitted by the timely state intervention under the direction of President Mahinda Rajapaksa,” said the chairman of the Private Tea Factory Owners Association, Anil Perera, in a statement.
The association said the Tea Board’s intervention at the Colombo Tea Auctions was a “good move” and thanked the Tea Board for its prompt action. The association said tea importers were adopting a ‘wait and see’ policy as tea prices were falling. This increased the volume of unsold teas to around 50% of the weekly offering at the Colombo auctions. After the Tea Board’s intervention, the drop in prices reduced, and unsold volumes declined to around 12%.
“Had this intervention not been taken, the tea prices would have tumbled to a greater degree,” said the statement. The private tea factory owners also thanked the Governor of the Central Bank, Nivard Cabraal, for financial assistance to the sector.
The factories expressed hope that the dialogue with the state will continue towards addressing some of the other issues faced by tea producers. |
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