Sri Lanka has seen a significant drop in the purchase of Ceylon Tea by one of its key buyers, Japan, the Sunday Times reported.
It has been reported that Japan’s purchase of tea has dropped by nearly half for this Dimbula Season.
Japan is a key buyer of teas during the peak Dimbula season but this year buying has dropped by 42 per cent.
Last year, Japan bought 1.5 million kg of Ceylon Tea during the January to March season but has purchased only 872,000 kg this year.
Asia Siyaka Brokers CEO Anil Cooke explained that this development was due to a combination of circumstances.
He said the main cause was that the suppliers are not confident in doing business with Sri Lanka under the prevailing situation in the country.
“They don’t know if Sri Lanka will have fertilizer. Even if it does, they are concerned if there would be a drop in quality and whether there could be a drop in quantity as well,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Planters Association Spokesman Dr. Roshan Rajadurai said Japan is a key market, and when Japanese customers are not at the auction “it will have a significant and long term impact.”
He added that Japan pays a high value for a premium product. (NewsWire)