Lankan tea crisis stuck in Russian holidays, bureaucracy

Plans by two ministers to fly to Russia to resolve a crisis over Ceylon tea after a bug was found in a tea container shipped from Sri Lanka are unlikely to immediately materialise, informed sources said on Tuesday.
Three ministers - Plantations Minister Navin Dissanayake and Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen to discuss lifting the ban and Science, Technology and Research Minister Susil Premajayantha, separately to discuss the asbestos ban, were due to visit Russia this week. However latest reports indicate that the issue will mostly likely be sorted out an through an ‘exchange of letters’ and other correspondence. A team of officials which was due to leave on Tuesday or Wednesday is unlikely to proceed, it is learnt.

Russia last week suspended agriculture products from Sri Lanka, which is mainly tea, from December 18 after the discovery of the Khapra beetle (normally found in grains and seeds) was discovered in the packaging of one consignment of tea from Sri Lanka. The bug was apparently found in the container but not inside the tea packs, sources in Colombo said, implying that it would have been already in the container at the time the tea was shipped from Colombo. It was widely believed that the suspension was a tit-for-tat over Sri Lanka banning asbestos which mostly comes from Russia.
The sources said that the delay in ministers or officials flying to Russia is also connected to getting ‘urgent’ appointments with senior Russian officials owing to normal protocol attached to such visits. While the holiday season has compounded matters in arranging meetings with Russian officials, it is also a blessing in disguise since the tea auctions on Monday/Tuesday (today) were the last for December and the next auction is scheduled in January.
“This also a period in which Sri Lanka shippers to Russia have already sold tea to arrive before the close for the December holiday season and also after mid-January when orthodox Christians in Russia celebrate Christmas,” one broker explained. At this week’s auction, prices were steady and were not impacted by the Russian developments.
The tea developments were also discussed at today’s Cabinet where concerns were raised on the impact. No details were available of what transpired at the Cabinet meeting. - ENDS -