Trouble brewing for Sri Lankan tea

Sri Lanka is facing a difficult situation. The president wants the country to grow all its food organically, without any chemicals. So, he has stopped farmers using chemical fertilisers. But this creates serious problems. Farmers worry the tea won't grow well without chemical fertilisers. Cinnamon, pepper and rice farmers are all worried too.

Tea maker Herman Gunaratne explains the problem.

Herman Gunaratne: "It is the urea and the nitrogen content that forces the growth of the tea bud and of the green leaf. Without it you can, you can expect a decline in production by as much as 50%."

Like most countries, Sri Lanka is also facing problems caused by the Coronavirus. There is an economic crisis with increasing unemployment. Gunaratne believes this will get much worse because of the president's organic plan. Farmers will grow less tea if it's grown organically. That means, fewer people are needed to pick the tea. So, unemployment will grow, as Gunaratne explains.

Herman Gunaratne: "So it is going to number one, make a big dent in the foreign exchange earnings of the country. Number two, it is going to render a great part of our population unemployed and number three and more importantly, we are going to lose the global image that we had for Ceylon Tea."

Sri Lanka gets more than $1.25 billion from selling tea. The country earns the most from selling tea. But Gunaratne believes that if farmers grow organic tea, they will grow 50 percent less tea. And the economy will suffer.

Herman Gunaratne: "We are not going to get 50% higher prices. And there is an extremely limited market for organic tea in the world. There is no way in which it can compensate for the decline in crop." View Less