Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world after water. While China is the world’s largest producer of Tea, India remains the second largest producer (Hazra et al, 2019, 514-515). Tea cultivation is practiced in numerous regions in the world, which produce unique flavors, types and aromas, from green teas, flavoured teas to black teas. Innovative tea processing methods and sustainable practices are driving the global tea industry's ongoing evolution.
Tea production worldwide from 2006 to 2022, by leading countries (in metric tons)
Figure 1 Tea production worldwide from 2006 to 2022,
by leading countries (in metric tons)
Source: (Ridder, 2024)
Tea
Industry of Sri Lanka
Sri
Lanka is renowned for its tea and knows as “Ceylon Tea” worldwide. History of tea
in the country dates back to colonial era. James Taylor began planting tea
commercially on a 20 acres land at Loolcondera Estate (Kandy District) in 1867.
Thanks to his tireless pioneering work, the tea industry eventually became
deeply ingrained in the island's economy, earning James Taylor the title of
"The Father of Ceylon Tea Industry" (DailyFT, 2018).
Diverse
elevations and climates in the country, contribute to its unique tea varieties,
for instance Ceylon Black Tea is famous worldwide for its taste and aroma. At
present, Sri Lanka ranks as the fourth largest producer of tea in the world (TEA,
2017).
Figure 2 James Taylor
Source: (DailyFT, 2018)
A report published by Care International (2013) highlights that Sri Lanka's tea industry, which contributes to 19% of the country's foreign earnings and employs over 310,000 people, is facing challenges due to international competition and internal factors. Exports are vying with cheaper products from Kenya and India, while the largely Tamil speaking workforce, among the poorest in the country, is escaping plantation life for opportunities in urban areas, leading to a labour shortage.
Challenges
Women,
who make up the majority of tea pluckers, face discrimination and are rarely
promoted to supervisor level positions. The poverty and isolation of estate
communities, along with ethnic divides between the workforce and managers,
create a lack of communication and problem solving mechanisms, leading to low
productivity and frequent strikes, threatening the long term sustainability of
the tea industry (Care International, 2013). Moreover, lack of productivity and
poor performance is another serious concern relating to the tea industry in Sri
Lanka (De Silva, 2020).
References
Care International, (2013) A Different Cup of Tea: The
Business Case for Empowering Workers in the Sri Lankan Tea Sector. London:
Care International UK.
DailyFT, (2018) Tea and Taylor, [online].
Available from https://www.ft.lk/FT-Lite/Tea-and-Taylor/6-666006 [Accessed: 21 March 2024].
De Silva, W. (2020) Training
& Development: A Review of its Outcome to Productivity in the Tea Industry
in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Science and Research.
Hazra, A., Dasgupta, N., Sengupta, C., Bera, B. and Das, S.
(2019) Tea: A Worthwhile, Popular Beverage Crop Since Time Immemorial. Springer.
Ridder, M. (2024) Tea production worldwide from 2006 to
2022, by leading country, [online] Statista. Available from https://www.statista.com/statistics/264188/production-of-tea-by-main-producing-countries-since-2006/ [Accessed: 21 March 2024].
TEA (2017) Ceylon Tea, Tea Exporters Association Sri Lanka, [online]. Available from https://teasrilanka.org/ceylon-tea [Accessed: 21 March 2024].
Agreed with the challenges, as mentioned in economynext, (2023), Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC has been named the Best Workplace for Women in Sri Lanka for 2023, recognizing its commitment to training and developing female employees' leadership skills and gender parity, fostering career growth for women being a role model for other tea plantation companies in the industry.
ReplyDeleteWell said Thanushi. Not only that, as per Groundviews (2024), Talawakelle tea estates has also become the first plantation company to employ female field supervisors in the tea plantations by training them all aspects of tea production and processing. Despite this, women face discrimination both at home and at work in general.
DeleteAgreed on your blog Kanishka. A significant factor in Sri Lanka's increase in foreign exchange is tea. In Sri Lanka, net foreign exchange revenues from the tea industry surpass 80% of the total value. In 2008, Sri Lanka's tea export revenue surpassed $1 billion USD for the first time in its history(Thasfiha, Arachchige and Dissanayaka, 2020).
ReplyDeleteWell said Hashira. 2008 was a landmark year in the Tea plantation industry of Sri Lanka. The industry has come a long way since then. According to Daily News (2024), the total revenue generated from tea exports in 2023 was USD 1.31 billion.
DeleteAgreed. The tea industry's reliance on female pluckers highlights persistent gender discrimination and a lack of upward mobility. Research by the International Labor Organization (ILO) emphasizes how this, combined with poverty and ethnic divides, hampers productivity and leads to strikes. Another study by De Silva (2020) underscores the urgency to address these issues for the industry's sustainability.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Damith. Despite some progress has been made by Finlays Tea Estates Sri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd which has employed women for managerial positions (Daily News, 2021) and Talawakelle tea estates which has employed female field supervisors (Groundviews, 2024), women generally face discrimination in the tea plantation sector.
DeleteMoreover, Kodituwakku and Priyanath (2012) claim that according to a research conducted in Rathnapura, labour productivity has improved after privatization.
Agreed with the arguments , Joshi et al. (2018) emphasize the cultural heritage associated with tea cultivation and the unique agricultural practices employed in tea plantations, making it a cornerstone of many communities.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. As per ETP (2023), tea industry generates income for more than 2.5 million people in Sri Lanka and according to Thillainathan (2022), it contributes for 3% of GDP making it a vital industry for many communities in the country.
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