A Deep Dive into the Market Competitiveness of Ceylon Tea

Advocata Institute hosted an event titled ‘A Deep Dive into the Market Competitiveness of Ceylon Tea’ to launch the report on "Market Competitiveness of the Tea Industry of Sri Lanka" authored by Sudaraka Ariyaratne (Research Consultant, Advocata Institute) The conference consisted of a panel discussion on Land & Labour Reforms : Efficiency Through Liberalisation and Quality Control & Premiumisation : Unlocking the True Potential of Ceylon Tea

Session on 'Land & Labour Reforms : Efficiency Through Liberalisation

The session commenced with a presentation by Sudaraka Ariyaratne, followed by a panel discussion with Hon. Jeevan Thondaman (Cabinet Minister, Water Supply & Estate Infrastructure Development), Dr Roshan Rajadurai (Managing Director, Hayleys Plantation Sector), Dr Romesh Bandaranaike (Former Director, Plantation Management Monitoring Division), moderated by Murtaza Jafferjee (Chair, Advocata Institute)

Session on 'Quality Control & Premiumisation : Unlocking the True Potential of Ceylon Tea’

The session continued on with another presentation by Sudaraka Ariyaratne, followed by a panel discussion with Niraj de Mel (Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tea Board), Dilhan C. Fernando (Chief Executive Officer, Ceylon Tea Services PLC), Dasarath Dassanayake (Former Head, Manufacture High Grown, John Keells PLC Consultant) moderated by Rehana Thowfeek (Research Consultant, Advocata Institute)

The presentation on Land and Labour Reforms: Efficiency Through Liberalisation by Sudaraka Ariyaratne can be accessed here

The presentation on Quality Control and Premiumisation: Unlocking the True Potential of Ceylon Tea by Sudaraka Ariyaratne can be accessed here

Both discussions will be available on our YouTube channel shortly.

Market Competitiveness of the Tea Industry of Sri Lanka

Advocata Institute launches its latest report titled “Market Competitiveness of the Tea Industry of Sri Lanka” The report is written by Sudaraka Ariyaratne, Research Consultant at Advocata Institute.

The report begins with an introductory chapter that details the historical evolution of the island’s tea industry. The report finds that the present standing of the industry in the context of the international market is not too grim, but argues that issues related to the labour market, capital investment, value addition, and quality control limit the industry’s competitiveness in the global stage. The rest of the report takes the form of four discussion papers, each on the four areas of concern listed above, that present an economic theory-based lens to approach these issues, and discuss potential solutions.

You can access the report on ‘Market Competitiveness of the Tea Industry of Sri Lanka’ here

Exploding myth of ‘Ceylon Tea’

Primary Industries Minister Daya Gamage exploded the myth surrounding the "Ceylon Tea" brand name.
Speaking at the Spices and Allied Products Producers' and Traders' Association (SAPPTA) Annual General Meeting in Colombo on Friday, he said that the term was coined by British planters.

But statistics showed that only 1% of the British consumer currently opted for ' Ceylon Tea'. The rest go for other brands. Nonetheless, Professor Prema-Chandra Athukorala, Professor of Economics, Australian National University, addressing a seminar in Colombo said that he was domiciled in Canberra where his neighbours consume a very popular tea marketed by a major private firm in Colombo".
"They were unaware that this was in fact what's known as 'Ceylon Tea', said Athukorala. The secret of this company's success was its packaging, he said. Gamage pooh-poohed the island's packaging standards saying that Vietnam's, Thailand's and China's packaging were far superior to that of Sri Lanka.

Read the article on Ceylon Today