Tea smallholders warn: Fertilizer shortage bound to impact adversely on SL’s tea exports

By Steve A. Morrell

Tea smallholders, who contribute the lion’s share of 70% of Sri Lanka’s national production, warned that the dearth of fertilizer has impacted adversely on the crop with an envisaged snowballing influence on exports.

“There is yellowing of the leaf surface contributing to substandard conditions affecting the quality of the finished product”, officials representing the Tea Factory Owners’ Association and the Tea Small Holders’ Development Authority, complained.

“The situation is grave as the lack of fertilizer will ultimately translate into a drop in quality tea, with the end result of exports taking a big hit, the officials, who asked not to be identified, said.

It is also of significance that the tea smallholder sector will feel the pinch of tumbling incomes on bought leaf delivered to tea factories, they noted.

Green leaf delivered to factories was paid Rs. 80-100 per kilo, subject to the net sales average of each factory in terms of elevation of its location. For example, a four-member smallholder family could produce at least 50 to 100 kilos green leaf per day, which gives them an income of Rs.10,000. Their earnings will now see a drastic drop due to lack of fertilizer, they pointed out.

In addition, the drop in income levels will also reflect adversely on their bank loan commitments plus repayments for electronic appliances and motorbikes purchased on monthly installment plans, they said.

Meanwhile, President, Asia Siyaka Tea Brokers, Anil Cooke, said Colombo’s prestige world-wide as a recognized tea center was now in jeopardy because of emerging dwindling standards because producers have been affected by quality issues.

“This will result in other producing countries scoring at the expense of Ceylon Tea”, he cautioned.

Brokers reported that price trends in the first six months of trading in comparison to 2020 clearly indicated that quality gravely affected auction prices. Although the low grown catalogue indicated some three million kilos auctioned, the demand was not increasing barometer.

There were areas of doubt that infused some degree of uncertainty on all round prices, they said.

Forbes and Walker, in their market report said, June average 2021 was Rs. 586.51 per kilo. Comparatively, June 2020 was Rs. 612.67, indicating a YOY drop of Rs. 26.16. per kilo.

Asia Siyaka Tea Brokers, and John Keells Tea Brokers also outlined the same position that Colombo was losing its significance as a key tea center, which was open to the assumption that there were buyers moving out of Colombo in preference to other auction centers.

Experts in the field have pointed out that replacing imported chemical fertilizer with alternatives cannot be done on an ad hoc basis. Many years of planning and study should go into the conversion process on a phased out basis.

The fertilizer crisis is not restricted to tea, but on a broad front applies to all plantation crops. Even agricultural exports such as fruit, which generate foreign exchange will suffer the consequences, they remarked.

There is also the threat of foreign investors in the field pulling out as export markets demand quality produce, they added.