Pussellawa Plantations investments sustain rubber, tea production
Rubber plantation.
Pussellawa Plantations in a bid to ensure the sustenance of their tea and rubber sectors continues to invest in infrastructure and machinery amidst the issues of low crop and high cost of fertiliser.
“Having invested in infrastructure and machinery our production should go up and costs come down,” the company’s CEO Manoj Udugampola told the Business Times in an interview.
The organisation has made significant investments exceeding Rs.2, 964 million during the last five years across all sections of the company boosting its future sustainability. Investments include in replanting for tea and rubber at Rs.1, 394 million; social welfare at over Rs.499 million; distribution of profit share to employees at over Rs.129 million; new vehicles at over Rs. 147 million; plant and machinery at over Rs.259 million; lands and buildings at over Rs.448 million and in other assets at over Rs.84 million.
The company has plans to invest over Rs.3000 million within the next five years towards replanting of tea and rubber.
In addition, the company wants to replant a further 1050 hectares of rubber and 450 hectares of tea by 2027, it was noted.
He noted, “We need to achieve around 1500 kilos per hectare for rubber and 1800 kilos per hectare for tea within the next 10 years’ time.”
In this respect, the nurseries have the required plants to carry out replanting with 750,000 tea plants and 300, 000 rubber plants.
Mr. Udugampola noted that with tea prices very good at present that is expected to continue the company has also invested in a brand new tea factory of Rs.400 million that is now fully functional.
With the national average dropping by 20 per cent this is applicable to Pussellawa estates as well, the CEO said.
He pointed out that in line with the increasing fertiliser prices their parent company is importing it for their plantations company as a result of which they expect to have an improved performance this year.
Moreover, the estates are yet to receive glyphosate on the estates which Mr. Udugampola said they expect by end January or early February.
But despite glyphosate likely to become available it maybe “beyond reach” as the price has now increased to Rs.5000 per litre compared to Rs.3200 for four litres.
Due to the fertiliser ban and now the increased price of it producers have witnessed a drop in crop and exports have also dropped by 20 per cent.
Losing markets to other countries Sri Lanka’s drop in production has resulted in buyers compelled to purchase the extra amount of stocks from other states like Kenya and India where it is much cheaper. “That is a real threat to our tea market,” he said.
Mr. Udugampola also said that the government and the Tea Board in a bid to increase production on the estates are likely to introduce some sort of subsidy scheme for the tea industry.
At a time when most tea factories are finding it hard to operate due to low volumes, Pussellawa Plantations has a strategy of maintaining a central factory and not operating all factories during low cropping months.
The rubber plantations have been yielding 1000 per hectare which is above the national average of 750 per hectare.
Over the years there has been a drop in prices since 2011 as a result of which most smallholder dropped out of tapping the rubber following which a decline in production was also witnessed.
Artificial rubber, a by-product of oil was extracted as a result of which the prices started moving up a little after 2017. But then COVID-19 struck and then with the demand for latex rubber glove increasing prices also continued to rise, then again it dropped, the CEO explained.
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