Features
Some suicidal strategies in marketing Ceylon Tea
Lackadaisical approach of Tea Board Secretariat and lack of innovation
(Excerpted from the autobiography of Merrill J. Fernando)
(continued from last week)
The remit of this committee covered, not only the formulation of proposals in respect of the Middle East market, but also included a complete re-evaluation of the existing promotional strategy and the submission of recommendations for the development of a comprehensive promotional plan covering all the important overseas markets. In fact, its scope was wider than that of the Advisory Committee appointed by Minister Jayawickrema in 1980.
The intention was to develop a broad promotional plan, valid for three years initially, to be extended for five years after a review at the end of three years, with amendments introduced, subject to market developments which may have occurred in the interim.
This committee, which met in late 1983, proposed a series of wide-ranging reforms, commencing with the organizational structure of the Promotional Division in the SLTB Head Office and the demarcation of specific priority overseas markets for development. It advocated a system for trade liaison between principal exporters and the promotional division, locations, and functions of overseas bureaus, the restructuring of the overseas tea centres, as well as promotional strategies in respect of each marketing region, based on marketing history and informed projections of future trends. The recommendations were based on a comprehensive analysis of both historical data and current performance.
The committee also evaluated the rules and regulations applicable to tea exports, first set out during the colonial era, and proposed reforms to meet new developments and requirements in marketing tea internationally. One of the key issues was the need for differentiation between bulk exports and value-added, private label exports, especially those destined for sophisticated markets, where Ceylon Tea was waging a difficult battle with already-established multinational brands. What was recommended was undiminished regulatory control, combined with adaptation and innovation where necessary, to market environment dynamics.
However, the absolutely lackadaisical approach of the Secretariat, with its instinctive rejection of innovation, ensured that the proposal submitted by the sub-committee to the Board in April 1984 was not implemented. Finally, it proved to be a futile exercise.
Knowledge is strength
When Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Libya were free markets, the buying in Colombo, on behalf of these countries, was carried out by several parties in each case. This system generated a healthy competition, resulting in good quality tea, especially the low-grown varieties, fetching attractive prices with benefits to the grower as well. Eventually, in most of these countries the tea buying was assigned to central, government corporations, each representing 20 to 30 importers.
Egypt and Iraq established their own buying offices in Colombo, whilst others sent out sourcing delegations from time to time. Tea was frequently purchased through tender procedures. The general result was an unhealthy competition in the country, with local exporters vying with each other to secure the business by lowering prices. The system of large forward contracts, which then came into being, resulted in significant volumes being offered at below prevailing prices, with no consideration for potential price movement dynamics, thus guaranteeing an auction price depression for several months in to the future.
Had we established a common marketing initiative for Ceylon Tea, at the time that the Gulf Corporation Council came in to being, many of the adverse impacts on our tea prices, as described
above, would have been countered by the influence of a combined front, representing Ceylon Tea in the Gulf region.
Consumption patterns vary from region to region, subject to historical preferences, lifestyle, and economic power and, in recent decades, the overpowering influence of multinational traders with persuasive brand promotion strategies. Variations in the latter factors stimulate changes in consumption habits, and an intimate, up-to-date knowledge of such market dynamics is essential, in order for any exporter to stay in the competition. Unfortunately, neither the SLTPB nor the SLTB possessed either awareness or capability, in-house, for them to be able to advise the local exporter on effective overseas marketing strategy.
Given that of all the major tea growing nations, Sri Lanka exports the maximum proportion of its production an average of over 90% annually overseas marketing expertise had to be both a primary focus and a major strength, of our State tea trade regulatory bodies. However, what should have been our greatest strengths were, in reality, our most glaring weaknesses.
The inability to identify and prioritize promotional opportunities and to exploit them at the correct time were among the main shortcomings of both our private tea sector entities and the State bodies responsible for overseeing and regulating the tea industry. This absence of enterprise also reflected our ignorance of market realities. The lack of both foresight and initiative demonstrated in the case of the Middle East market, when it was ripe for development, and later in the case of the Russian market, are very good examples of a submissive, overcautious, and uninformed mindset.
The Tea Board in particular was, for years, quite comfortable in frittering away paltry sums on a multitude of insignificant projects, but balked at allocating even a reasonable budget for a single large project with potential.
Suicidal strategies
Most of our larger exporters were local agents or representatives of multinational or foreign-owned brands, which were then moving from loose-leaf packaging to tea bags, in order to meet a consumer demand created by the multinational giants themselves. As the CTC (Crush, Tear and Curl) type tea, with its strength, uniformity of particle size, and general homogeneity, lent itself easily to tea bag packaging, there was a proposal by members of the CTTA (Ceylon Tea Traders Association) to convert a sizeable proportion of our national production, from Orthodox to CTC.
The stated intent was to eventually convert, over a five-year period, a volume equivalent to about 25% of the national production, drawn from the Low and Mid-Country regions, to CTC. The proponents based their reasoning on the uncritical emulation of the Kenyan model but, actually, were driven by the need to promote the interests of the foreign labels being serviced in the country.
At a meeting of the Sri Lnka Tea Bord (SLTB) at which this matter was first discussed, the then Minister of Plantations, Dr. Colvin R de Silva, and his Secretary. Doric de Souza, were also present. At that point of time I had had no previous acquaintance with either of them. The dominant opinion at the meeting, underwritten and driven by multinational interests, was that we should go with the conversion to CTC manufacture.
Surprisingly, the Minister turned to me and asked me for my opinion. I explained to him in detail the reasons for my opposition to the proposal, but suggested that we could perhaps convert 10% of our
production to CTC, to test the market, and thereafter assess the impact it would have on both prices and selling patterns, of our Orthodox tea.
The Minister immediately requested the Ceylon Tea Propaganda Board to talk to the agency houses and, through them, offer the plantation companies an incentive to manufacture a limited proportion of CTC tea. In fact, the Tea Board provided handsome subsidies for the purchase of machinery.
Had we succumbed to the blandishments of the local servants of the multinational tea bag retailers then, and gone ahead with a large-scale conversion to CTC tea, our wide range of Orthodox tea, which continues to fetch premium prices even today, would have been obliterated by the boring sameness of the CTC product. Prices too would have declined proportionately and, in any event, eventually, we would have lost out to the Kenyan and Indonesian producers, who manufacture and bring the same type of tea to the market at a much lower cost than ours.
It is the artisanal aspect of a large proportion of our manufacture, that is responsible for the variations of style and appearance, which separates Pure Ceylon Tea from the herd. An unregulated conversion of a large proportion of our production to CTC, would have eliminated those features of attractiveness altogether from the Ceylon Tea portfolio.
In this issue as well, the hasty decision making was the result of a combination of flawed logic, ignorance of market realities, and either a lack of understanding of, or a lack of consideration, for the long term impact on our tea industry arising from a sudden, large-scale conversion of our national production to CTC style.
The proposal to convert marginal Mid- and Low-Country plantations to CTC made no sense as, in any event, having failed to produce decent Orthodox tea, the CTC product from such factories would have fared very poorly against the already-established high-elevation competition from North India. Kenya, and some of the other smaller African producers.
Ideally and logically, our CTC production should have been confined to select High-Grown plantations, if it were to offer meaningful competition to then current international market leaders of that type of tea. Since that meeting, in several instances, Doric de Souza sought my opinion on a number of tea industry issues. One such matter was the restriction on auction quantities, which then was limited to 3-3.5 million kilos per auction, leading to accumulation of stocks on plantations, especially during high cropping periods.
The Minister called a meeting of the major exporters to discuss this issue and though I was not in that category then, I attended the meeting at the request of Kenneth Ratwatte, then Chairman of the CTTA. He insisted that I attend at least for a short period, even though at that time I was confined to my home due to ill-health, as he wanted me to explain to the Minister the issues involved.
The Brook Bond and Lipton representatives were totally opposed to an increase of auction quantities, insisting on the continuity of the prevailing limitation of three million kg per auction. Major buyers were also completely supportive of the CTTA position to volume limitation. Finally, the Association relented and, with my total support, the motion to increase volumes to at least 4.5 million kg initially, and to five million kg during cropping months, finally carried the day.
There was no oversupply situation as a result and, subsequently, even larger volumes were disposed of without serious problem. To me, this was another example of the hidebound thinking of the multinationals and their associates, who resisted any kind of change, especially if the change carried even an implied threat to their dominance.
The sad reality is that there has never been a nationally-articulated marketing plan for Ceylon Tea, to place its image before the world, using the unique selling points of singularity of origin, wide grade spectrum, traditional orthodoxy, purity, and quality. Had there been a sustained promotional programme commencing from the 1960s, when Ceylonese-owned firms started to emerge from the daunting shadow of the multinationals, many locally-owned brands would today be out in the international marketplace, competing successfully with the biggest multinationals.
My disillusionment with the Tea Propaganda Board and subsequently with the Tea Board is relevant to their activities of the 1970s and ’80s and is confined to a handful of the bureaucrats in service then. The appointed members of successive boards were, by and large, men of integrity, competence, and vision. In the years following the events described in this narrative, the SLTB, as a body, has been far more proactive and, overall, demonstrated sound judgment in respect of all major issues.
It could be quite premature to claim that the US has closed ranks completely with the world’s foremost fascist states: Russia, China and North Korea. But there is no denying that the US is breaking with tradition and perceiving commonality of policy orientation with the mentioned authoritarian states of the East rather than with Europe and its major democracies at present.
Increasingly, it is seemingly becoming evident that the common characterization of the US as the ‘world’s mightiest democracy’, could be a gross misnomer. Moreover, the simple fact that the US is refraining from naming Russia as the aggressor in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its refusal to perceive Ukraine’s sovereignty as having been violated by Russia, proves that US foreign policy is undergoing a substantive overhaul, as it were. In fact, one could not be faulted, given this backdrop, for seeing the US under President Donald Trump as compromising its democratic credentials very substantially.
Yet, it could be far too early to state that in the traditional East-West polarity in world politics, that the US is now squarely and conclusively with the Eastern camp that comprises in the main, China and Russia. At present, the US is adopting an arguably more nuanced approach to foreign policy formulation and the most recent UN Security Council resolution on Ukraine bears this out to a degree. For instance, the UN resolution in question reportedly ‘calls for a rapid end to the war without naming Russia as the aggressor.’
That is, the onus is being placed on only Ukraine to facilitate an end to the war, whereas Russia too has an obligation to do likewise. But it is plain that the US is reflecting an eagerness in such pronouncements to see an end to the Ukraine conflict. It is clearly not for a prolongation of the wasting war. It could be argued that a negotiated settlement is being given a try, despite current international polarizations.
However, the US could act constructively in the crisis by urging Russia as well to ensure an end to the conflict, now that there is some seemingly friendly rapport between Trump and Putin.
However, more fundamentally, if the US does not see Ukraine’s sovereignty as having been violated by Russia as a result of the latter’s invasion, we are having a situation wherein the fundamental tenets of International Law are going unrecognized by the US. That is, international disorder and lawlessness are being winked at by the US.
It follows that, right now, the US is in cahoots with those powers that are acting autocratically and arbitrarily in international politics rather than with the most democratically vibrant states of the West, although a facile lumping together of the US, Russia and China, is yet not possible.
It is primarily up to the US voting public to take clear cognizance of these developments, draw the necessary inferences and to act on them. Right now, nothing substantive could be done by the US voter to put things right, so to speak, since mid-term US elections are due only next year. But there is ample time for the voting public to put the correct perspective on these fast-breaking developments, internationally and domestically, and to put their vote to good use in upcoming polls and such like democratic exercises. They would be acting in the interest of democracy worldwide by doing so.
More specifically it is up to Donald Trump’s Republican voter base to see the damage that is being done by the present administration to the US’ standing as the ‘world’s mightiest democracy’. They need to bring pressure on Trump and his ‘inner cabinet’ to change course and restore the reputation of their country as the foremost democracy. In the absence of such action it is the US citizenry that would face the consequences of Trump’s policy indiscretions.
Meanwhile, the political Opposition in the US too needs to get its act together, so to speak, and pressure the Trump administration into doing what is needed to get the US back to the relevant policy track. Needless to say, the Democratic Party would need to lead from the front in these efforts.
While, in the foreign policy field the US under President Trump could be said to be acting with a degree of ambivalence and ambiguity currently, in the area of domestic policy it is making it all to plain that it intends to traverse a fascistic course. As has been proved over the past two months, white supremacy is being made the cardinal principle of domestic governance.
Trump has made it clear, for example, that his administration would be close to ethnic chauvinists, such as the controversial Ku Klux Klan, and religious extremists. By unceremoniously rolling back the ‘diversity programs’ that have hitherto helped define the political culture of the US, the Trump administration is making no bones of the fact that ethnic reconciliation would not be among the government’s priorities. The steady undermining of USAID and its main programs worldwide is sufficient proof of this. Thus the basis has been adequately established for the flourishing of fascism and authoritarianism.
Yet, the US currently reflects a complex awareness of foreign policy questions despite having the international community wondering whether it is sealing a permanent alliance with the main powers of the East. For instance, President Trump is currently in conversation on matters in the external relations sphere that are proving vital with the West’s principal leaders. For example, he has spoken to President Emmanuel Macron of France and is due to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the UK.
Obviously, the US is aware that it cannot ‘go it alone’ in resolving currently outstanding issues in external relations, such as the Ukraine question. There is a clear recognition that the latter and many more issues require a collaborative approach.
Besides, the Trump administration realizes that it cannot pose as a ‘first among equals’, given the complexities at ground level. It sees that given the collective strength of the rest of the West that a joint approach to problem solving cannot be avoided. This is particularly so in the case of Ukraine.
The most major powers of the West are no ‘pushovers’ and Germany, under a possibly Christian Democratic Union-led alliance in the future, has indicated as much. It has already implied that it would not be playing second fiddle to the US. Accordingly, the US is likely to steer clear of simplistic thinking in the formulation of foreign policy, going forward.
by Upali Gamakumara,
Upali.gamakumara@gmail.com
The Clean Sri Lanka (CSL) is a project for the true renaissance the NPP government launched, the success of which would gain world recognition. It is about more than just cleaning up places. Its broader objectives are to make places attractive and happy for people who visit or use services in the country, focusing more on the services in public institutions and organisations like the SLTB. Unfortunately, these broader objectives are not apparent in its theme, “Clean Sri Lanka,” and therefore there is a misconception that keeping the environment clean is the main focus.
People who realise the said broader objectives are excited about a cleaner Sri Lanka, hoping the President and the government will tackle this, the way they are planning to solve other big problems like the economy and poverty. However, they do not see themselves as part of the solution.
From the management perspective, the CSL has a strategic plan that is not declared in that manner. When looking at the government policies, one can perceive its presence, the vision being “A Prosperous Nation and a Beautiful Life,” the mission “Clean Sri Lanka” and the broader objectives “a disciplined society, effective services, and a cleaner environment.” If the government published these as the strategy, there would have been a better understanding.
Retaining the spirit and expectations and continuing the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ project is equally important as much as understanding its deep idea. For this, it needs to motivate people, which differs from those motivators that people push to achieve selfish targets. The motivation we need here is to evolve something involuntarily, known as Drivers. Drivers push for the survival of the evolution or development of any entity. We see the absence of apparent Drivers in the CSL project as a weakness that leads to sporadic hiccups and free flow.
Drivers of Evolution
Drivers vary according to the nature of envisaged evolution for progress. However, we suggest that ‘the force that pushes anything to evolve’ would fit all evolutions. Some examples are: ‘Fitting to survival’ was the driver of the evolution of life. Magnetism is a driver for the unprecedented development of physics – young Einstein was driven to enquire about the ‘attraction’ of magnets, eventually making him the greatest scientist of the 20th century.
Leadership is a Driver. It is essential but do not push an evolution continually as they are not sprung within a system involuntarily. This is one of the reasons why CSL has lost the vigour it had at its inception.
CSL is a teamwork. It needs ‘Drives’ for cohesion and to push forward continually, like the Quality Improvement Project of the National Health Service (NHS) in England. Their drivers are outlined differently keeping Aims as their top driver and saying: Aims should be specific and measurable, not merely to “improve” or “reduce,” engage stakeholders to define the aim of the improvement project and a clear aim to identify outcome measures.
So, we think that CSL needs Aims as defined by NHS, built by stakeholder participation to help refine the project for continuous evolution. This approach is similar to Deming’s Cycle for continual improvement. Further, two more important drivers are needed for the CSL project. That is Attitudinal Change and Punishment. We shall discuss these in detail under Psychoactive Environment (pSE) below.
Aside from the above, Competition is another driver in the business world. This helps achieve CSL objectives in the private sector. We can see how this Driver pushes, with the spread of the Supermarket chains, the evolution of small and medium retail shops to supermarket level, and in the private banks and hospitals, achieving broader objectives of CSL; a cleaner environment, disciplined behaviuor, efficient service, and the instillation of ethics.
The readers can now understand the importance of Drivers pushing any project.
Three Types of Entities and Their Drives
We understand, that to do the transformation that CSL expects, we need to identify or adopt the drivers separately to suit the three types of entities we have in the country.
Type I entities are the independent entities that struggle for their existence and force them to adopt drivers involuntarily. They are private sector entities, and their drivers are the commitment of leadership and competition. These drivers spring up involuntarily within the entity.
Type II are the dependent entities. To spring up drivers of these entities commitment of an appointed trustee is a must. Mostly in state-owned entities, categorized as Boards, Authorities, Cooperations, and the like. Their drivers do not spring up within or involuntarily unless the leader initiates. The Government of a country also falls into this type and the emergence of drivers depends on the leader.
Type III entities have neither independent nor dependent immediate leader or trustee. They are mostly the so-called ‘Public’ places like public-toilets, public-playgrounds, and public-beaches. No team can be formed as these places are open to any, like no-man-land. Achieving CSL objectives at these entities depends on the discipline of the public or the users.
Clean Sri Lanka suffers the absence of drivers in the second and third types of entities, as the appointed persons are not trustees but temporary custodians.
The writer proposes a remedy to the last two types of entities based on the theory of pSE explained below.
Psychoactive Environment (pSE) –
The Power of Customer Attraction
Research by the writer introduced the Psychoactive Environment (pSE) concept to explain why some businesses attract more customers than others who provide the same service. Presented at the 5th Global Conference on Business and Economics at Cambridge University in 2006, the study revealed that a “vibe” influences customer attraction. This vibe, termed pSE, depends on Three Distinct Elements, which can either attract or repel customers. A positive pSE makes a business more attractive and welcoming. This concept can help develop Drivers for Type II and III entities.
pSE is not an all-inclusive solution for CSL, but it lays the foundation for building Drivers and motivating entities to keep entrants attractive and contented.
The structure of the pSE
The three distinct Elements are the Occupants, Systems, and Environment responsible for making a pSE attractive to any entity, be it a person, institution, organization, or county. Each of these elements bears three qualities named Captivators. These captivators are, in simple terms, Intelligent, Nice, and Active in their adjective forms.
pSE theorizes that if any element fails to captivate the entrant’s mood by not being Intelligent, Nice, or Active, the pSE becomes negative, repelling the entrant (customer). Conversely, the positive pSE attracts the entrants if the elements are Intelligent, Nice, and Active.
For example, think person who comes to a Government Office for some service. He sees that the employees, service, and environment are intelligent, nice, and active, and he will be delighted and contented. He will not get frustrated or have any deterioration in national productivity.
The Significance of pSE in CSL
The Elements and the Captivators are universal for any entity. Any entity can easily find its path to Evolution or Progress determined by these elements and captivators. The intangible broader objectives can be downsised to manageable targets by pSE. Achievements of these targets make the entrants happy and enhance productivity – the expectation of Clean Sri Lanka (CSL).
From the perspective of pSE, now we can redefine the Clean Sri Lanka project thus:
To make the Elements of every entity in Sri Lanka: intelligent, Nice, and Active.
How Would the pSE be A Remedy for The Sporadic Hiccups?
We have seen two possible reasons for sporadic setbacks and the discontinuity of some projects launched by the CSL. They are:
The absence of involuntary Drivers for evolvement or progress
Poor attitudes and behaviors of people and leaders
Remedy for the Absence of Drivers
Setting up a system to measure customer or beneficiary satisfaction, and setting aims can build Drivers. The East London NHS principles help build the Aims that drive type II & II entities. The system must be designed to ensure continual improvement following the Deming Cycle. This strategy will create Drivers for Type I & II entities.
This process is too long to explain here therefore we refrain from detailing.
Attitudinal Change
The most difficult task is the attitudinal and behavioural change. Yet it cannot be postponed.
Punishment as a strategy
In developed countries, we see that people are much more disciplined than in the developing countries. We in developing countries, give credit to their superior culture, mitigating ours as rudimental. The long experience and looking at this affair from a vantage point, one will understand it is not the absolute truth. Their ruthless wars in the past, rules, and severe punishment are the reasons behind this discipline. For example, anyone who fails to wear a car seatbelt properly will be fined 400 AUD, nearly 80,000 LKR!
The lesson we can learn is, that in Sri Lanka, we need strong laws and strict punishment together with a type of strategic education as follows.
Psychological Approach as a Strategy
The psychological theory of attitude formation can be used successfully if some good programmes can be designed.
All attitude formations start with life experience. Formed wrong or negative attitudes can be reversed or instilled with correct attitudes by exposure to designed life experiences. The programmes have been developed using the concepts of Hoshin Kanri, Brainstorming, Cause-and-Effect analysis, and Teamwork, in addition to London NTS Quality Improvement strategies.
The experience and good responses we received for our pSE programs conducted at several institutions prove and have built confidence in our approach. However, it was a time, when governments or organisations did not pay much attention to cultural change as CSL expects in the country.
Therefore, we believe this is a golden opportunity to take the CSL supported by the pSE concept.
Although they are visually impaired youngsters, under the guidance of renowned musician Melantha Perera, these talented individuals do shine bright … hence the name Bright Light.
Says Melantha: “My primary mission is to nurture their talent and ensure their sustainable growth in music, and I’m thrilled to announce that Bright Light’s first public performance is scheduled for 7th June, 2025. The venue will be the MJF Centre Auditorium in Katubadda, Moratuwa.”
Melantha went on to say that two years of teaching, online, visually impaired youngsters, from various parts of the island, wasn’t an easy ride.
There were many ups and downs but Melantha’s determination has paid off with the forming of Bright Light, and now they are gearing up to go on stage.
According to Melantha, they have come a long way in music.
“For the past few months, we have been meeting, physically, where I guide them to play as a band and now they show a very keen interest as they are getting to the depth of it. They were not exposed to English songs, but I’ve added a few English songs to widen their repertoire.
Melantha Perera: Invented a notation
system for the guitar
“On 7th June, we are opening up for the public to come and witness their talents, and I want to take this product island-wide, giving the message that we can do it, and I’m hoping to create a database so there will be a following. Initially, we would like your support by attending the show.”
Melantha says he didn’t know what he was getting into but he had confidence teaching anyone music since he has been in the scene for the past 45 years. He began teaching in 2015,
“When I opened my music school, Riversheen School of Music, the most challenging part of teaching was correcting tone deaf which is the theoretical term for those who can’t pitch a note, and also teaching students to keep timing while they sang and played.”
Melantha has even invented a notation system for the guitar which he has named ‘MelaNota’. He has received copyrights from the USA and ISO from Australia, but is yet to be recognised in Sri Lanka.
During Covid-19, Melantha showcased MelaNota online and then it was officially launched with the late Desmond De Silva playing one of his tunes, using MelaNota.
Melantha says that anyone, including the visually impaired, can play a simple melody on a guitar, within five minutes, using his notation system.
“I’ve completed the system and I’m now finalising the syllabus for the notation system.”
Melantha has written not only for the guitar, but also for drums, keyboards, and wind instruments.
For any queries, or additional information, you could contact Melantha at 071 454 4092 or via email at thebandbrightlight@gmail.com.
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