High production costs, poor practices and low labor productivity call for a paradigm shift in the management system
Sri Lanka’s tea industry is in crisis. The cost of production of the brew that cheers” is higher and labor productivity is lower in Sri Lanka as compared to other tea-producing countries like China, India, Vietnam and Kenya.
The cost of production in Sri Lanka is US$ 3.11/kg, while it is US$ 1.35 in Bangladesh, US$ 1.25 in India, US$ 1 In Kenya, and US$ 0.75 in Vietnam. Labor productivity Lanka is about between 18 and 22 kg per day in Sri Lanka, in contrast to 30 to 60 kg per day in the competing countries. In 2018, the average productivity of tea in Sri Lanka was 1500 kg/ha/year, while in India it was 2227 kg/ha/year and 2104 kg/ha/year in Kenya…