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Sri Lankan tea plants starved of fertilizer are no longer producing at the high rate experienced during the early part of the year, leading to the prediction exports will experience a steep decline. (Photo credit: Tea gardens in the morning light. Kandy, Sri Lanka by Luboslav Ivanko, Dreamstime.)
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Organized protests by thousands of Sri Lankan growers compound disruptions in the tea sector, leading to a projected 25% decline in production and export revenue.
Starving the nation’s food and cash crops of fertilizer reversed production gains during the first half of the year, angering growers and farmworkers. Last week hundreds of Tamil workers faced off against police in Batticaloa, in the Northeast portion of the island. Sinhala farmers in the south also gathered to voice their concerns about reduced harvest when food prices spiked above 11% and inflation is running nearly 6%. Agriculture employs 22 million and contributes 7% to the country’s gross domestic product (tea accounts for 1.5% of that total, about $1.24 billion in 2020.)
Sri Lanka's Planter's Association expressed concern about rice, pepper, and tea. Paddy growers cultivating 700,000 hectares between October and March could see output fall 43%, according to agriculture economist Jeevika Weerahewa at Peradeniya University.
Sri Lanka has farmed its limited acreage for centuries, depleting soils and making fertilizer essential. In 2010 tea production was 330 million kilos on 222,000 hectares, requiring the application of 160,000 metric tons of fertilizer annually. A decade later, acreage had increased to 253,000 hectares, but the yield is down to 278 million kilos, and revenue declined from $1.6 billion to $1.24 billion in 2020. Totals through September are 234,430 metric tons, but it appears there was a steep drop in October, according to minister of plantations, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana. Long-term, the nation will benefit from enriching its soils in switching to organic production, but agronomists say that should occur over a decade.
In a good year, the country of mainly small landholders can grow enough leaf to make 340 million kilos, ranking fourth in the world at 6.5% of global supply. Unlike Kenya, where the emphasis is on volume, Sri Lankan tea commands much higher prices at auction due to the careful hand pluck and production at state-regulated factories.
The chemical fertilizer ban instituted in May threatens both yield and quality. The Planter's Association stresses the importance of preserving the diverse terroir that produces such distinctive flavors. Sri Lanka has a highly developed packing and shipping segment generating 45% of total revenue.