Finance Secretary Dr P B Jayasundera has said tea imports into Sri Lanka should be banned in order to protect the integrity and image of Sri Lankan tea.
The Tea Exporters Association, which represents around 75% of Sri Lankan tea exporters, has recently made a proposal to allow the importing and blending of foreign tea with Sri Lankan blends for export.
Speaking at a Dilmah conference, Dr Jayasundera rejected the proposals.
“Sri Lanka should not permit our product to be used in that manner.”
“One product we should uncompromisingly preserve and protect is Sri Lankan tea. Dilmah has shown that all facets can be developed locally. We believe Sri Lanka has a tremendous comparative advantage in tea and can make it a three billion dollar industry in the next 10 years.”
“The TEA, which is behind the effort to import cheap low-quality teas for blending and re-exporting from Sri Lanka, is comprised entirely of tea exporters and does not represent the hundreds of thousands of growers and workers who help sustain one of the country’s most important industries. For the past few years, the TEA has attempted to argue that the relatively high cost of Ceylon tea prevents local players from competing with international brands.”
Dilmah, the largest exporter of ‘Pure Ceylon Tea’, is also vehemently opposed to the proposals by the TEA.
