(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Exports of rubber, coconut and cinnamon have generated revenue of Rs. 800 billion (US $ 4 billion) this year.
This is the highest export earnings in the history of the country, said the Minister of Plantation Industries, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana at a ceremony held at Ape Gama premises in Battaramulla on the 28th.
The Minister said this year the tea production is 305 million kilos. He added that although the tea industry had the potential to generate high export earnings, that opportunity was lost.
Minister Pathirana said he expects the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority would be committed to making the coming New Year a profitable year for the tea industry in the face of challenges.
The Minister also pointed out that as the government is ready to provide free tea plants and compost fertilizer to anyone who joins the tea plantations this year, when tea replanting is on the rise, it is possible to go beyond traditional cultivation and contribute to the program of building a better plantation economy.
He also said that steps will be taken to provide high quality tea plants with the required technical knowledge to all those who have requested tea plants.
