In May, Sri Lanka banned imports of fertiliser saying that annually, $ 400 million was spent on it and that agro-chemicals led to non-communicable diseases and pollution. However, last week, the Government revoked the gazette issued banning chemical imports.

Addressing the threats to the tea industry resulting from the country’s attempts to transition into an organic food producer, Sri Lanka Planters’ Association Deputy Chairman Senaka Alawattegama said they were expecting a 30-40% decline in the crop harvest of the tea estates across the country should they fail to receive the necessary stocks of fertiliser. He said: “Fertiliser remains unavailable for the smallholders as well as for the regional plantation companies (RPCs). Therefore, we will definitely see a drop in our production in the coming months.”

Harvest losses and consequences

Alawattegama shared that the agro-chemical ban instituted in May threatened not only yield but quality as well, adding to potential economic repercussions for the industry.

He said that without herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides being sprayed on the crops, the harvest was vulnerable to various diseases that affected tea crops, leading to long-term impacts on production. The Planter’s Association Deputy Chairman stressed the fact that plantations already used a balanced fertiliser, adding: “Now due to the lack of nutrients (in the fertiliser) there will be a drop in quality that we can already see, particularly in instances where the teas have become browner, causing the buyers to complain. So, this is going to be a fairly big hit on the industry as well as the country.” He also ventured that the prevailing fertiliser shortages would affect replanting, leading to long-term impacts on the industry, since planters would be unable to grow viable cultivars.

Echoing these thoughts on potential long-term complications arising from fertiliser-related issues, Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) Vice President Senthil Thondaman said: “If tea is converted into organic, (it requires a) minimum of five years to get the certification (to be considered) organic.” So, for five years, even though the soil is supplied with organic fertiliser, they will be unable to generate the same yields.

He alluded to already existing organic tea plantations in Sri Lanka which allegedly produce only 30% of the yield compared to other tea plantations. As such, the result would be a reduced tea harvest that will have to be sold at regular prices without the organic certification. Moreover, a reduced yield, in turn, would mean that the companies are unable to pay the workers’ salaries. Thondaman pointed out that this would destroy the plantations while the nearly 700,000 direct and indirect labourers whose livelihoods depended on plantations would find themselves in a perilous situation as a result.

“There won’t be immediate losses, but next year, there will be, since this year’s (crop) input will be reflected next year. Presently, there’s a huge demand for Ceylon Tea in the world, while there is no such demand for organic tea. So, when Ceylon Tea converts to organic, we’re going to lose an existing market in the search for a new market. I’m not sure whether there’ll be so much demand for organic tea consumption because the cost of the tea will be three to four times higher, which means people will have issues with affordability,” Thondaman shared.

Adding to this description of the cyclical nature of the situation, Planters’ Association Deputy Chairman Alawattegama said: “With reduced crops, the workers will have fewer working days, leading to a decline in their productivity levels due to the non-availability of leaves on the tea bushes.” He noted that the outcome of all this would be a perceptible decline in export revenue since the country would be producing less tea on the whole. “If we continue in this manner, at some point, overseas buyers will look to other origins, because if they are unable to source the requirements for their orders, they will definitely look to other possible markets like Kenya and India.”

Further acknowledging potential economic losses, he said: “Last year (tea) exports amounted to about $ 1.3 billion. If we lose around 30% of the harvest, of course the impact might not be that much, but still we will initially lose around $ 200-300 million, which will increase in the long term.”

Alawattegama estimates a projected 50% increase in production costs along with the estimated 30% decline in production, noting that under such circumstances, “it will not be viable for the industry or for the companies to continue at those costs, leading to us having to cut corners in other areas”.

Speaking on possible resolutions to the situation, he noted that the agro-chemicals issue required a permanent decision from the Government instead of the present mixed messaging regarding the importing of chemical fertiliser.

Responding to inquiries about this, Ministry of Plantation Secretary Ravindra Hewavitharana said that while there was insufficient data to estimate future tea crop losses, relevant decisions would be taken should any reduction in harvests be reported.

He added that most recently, their maximum efforts had been expended on ensuring the release of a shipment of fertiliser, in addition to taking necessary steps to release the available stocks of fertiliser as a remedy since it would take time for the people to be supplied with organic fertiliser.

Wage hike irregularities

These issues with the tea harvest come at a time when the industry has been undergoing a long-drawn-out labour dispute following demands by estate worker trade unions for a Rs. 1,000 daily wage.

Following the issuance of the gazette notification on 5 March 2021 which increased the daily minimum wage of plantation sector workers to Rs. 1,000, ongoing irregularities regarding the implementation of the new wage rate persist.

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-affiliated All Ceylon Estate Workers’ Union Chairperson Kitnan Selvaraj said that although the Government gazetted their promised daily wage of Rs. 1,000, even before a month had elapsed following the issuance of the gazette, the companies went before the courts to invalidate it. He said that under these circumstances, “the Government should have deployed their executive powers to give the estate workers their Rs. 1,000 at least through other means”. He noted that the estate worker population was ageing, and that there was a chance for 65% of the tea factories to close within two years.

CWC Vice President Thondaman noted that companies were failing to implement the gazette regarding the minimum daily wage, taking advantage of the fact that the officials in charge of ensuring the implementation of the gazette were inactive in their tasks. “If you were to take an estate, hardly 20-30% receive the Rs. 1,000 wage. The remaining 70% don’t receive the Rs. 1,000 wage (at all).”

Maneesha Dullewe

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