Please Share your Email if you Wish to Receive the Golden Tips & Tales Newsletter from History of Ceylon Tea Website
Sri Lanka yesterday launched the official website announcing the country’s participation in the six-month long Expo 2020 Dubai, anticipating a major boost to exports, tourism and investments while looking to enhance the country’s brand value and image globally.
The official website was launched by the Ambassador of UAE in Sri Lanka, Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Al Mualla, Deputy Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Nalin Bandara, and Export Development Board (EDB) Chairperson Indira Malwatte at the EDB premises yesterday.
Sri Lanka will have its own dedicated pavilion spanning over 212 sqm at this 6-month-long mega exposition under the sub theme ‘Opportunity’, and the pavilion will be branded under the title ‘Island of Ingenuity’.
It will be designed by students of the Department of Integrated Design of the Faculty of Architecture of University of Moratuwa.
The Expo is expected to attract over 25 million visitors, of which 70 percent will be international visitors.
Although the government has committed Rs.580 million to promote Sri Lanka’s exports, tourism and investment opportunities at Expo 2020 Dubai, the UAE government has supported Sri Lanka by granting concessions worth of Rs.1.3 billion.
“The pavilion was given free for us by the UAE, which otherwise would have cost Rs.600 million for us. We have also got Rs.700 million as the Moratuwa University students won a design competition organised by the Expo 2020 Dubai organisers,” EDB Chairperson Indiara Malwatte told Mirror Business on the sidelines of the launch.
She was confident that Expo 2020 Dubai will contribute to achieving the government’s ‘Vision 2025’ by supporting the growth of tourism, stimulating the development of innovative businesses and enhancing the country’s international reputation as a location to do business.
The Sri Lanka pavilion will outline the country’s rich portfolio of offerings as well as promote it as an export hub driven by innovative products and services, prioritising the identified focused areas in the National Export Strategy (NES).
Consequently, the government expects to attract foreign direct investments (FDI), in particular to export –oriented manufacturing.
Malwatte highlighted that Expo 2020 Dubai is a milestone for the country as it’s the first instance where Sri Lanka’s participation in an international expo being done through public-private sector collaboration.
Sri Lanka’s participation at the event is being spearheaded by the EDB together with the public and private stakeholders, ensuring the effective implementation of the project.
Accordingly, six sub-committees which have been appointed are co-chaired by private and public sector officials while the EDB acts as the focal point.
The Sri Lanka Tea Board, Board of Investment (BOI) and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) have already secured space in the Sri Lankan pavilion for the six-month period.
In terms of private sector representation, the National Chamber of Exporters, Secretary General/ Chief Executive Officer, Shiham Marikar noted that 20 sectors have so far confirmed their participation in the Expo 2020 Dubai representing export services, industrial products and agricultural products.
He expects that 28-30 sectors would participate on a rotation basis as per their requirements.
Considering the magnitude and the global attention to the event, the EDB announced that Sri Lanka will get the most out of world-renowned Sri Lankan personalities to promote the country at the global event.
Arrangements have been made to get on board the world-renowned Sri Lankan-born chef Peter Kuruvita as a guest chef representing Sri Lanka to deliver the contemporary version of Sri Lankan cuisine with the richness of Sri Lankan spices at the Culinary Experience Pod organized at the Expo 2020 Dubai.
Further, cricketers Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara have been appointed as brand ambassadors of the country to collaborate with Sri Lanka’s participation at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Expo 2020 Dubai will be held for 173 days starting from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021 and spreads in across land area of 438 hectares located midway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC won the coveted ‘Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2021’ at an annual event organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the country’s premier business chamber, to recognize sustainable champions of the local corporate world. Citizens Development Business Finance PLC and CBL Investments Limited (CBL Group) were adjudged the first and second runners-up of the competition, respectively.
Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC walked away with the Category B ‘Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award 2021’, awarded to companies with an annual turnover below Rs. 15 Billion, while BPPL Holdings PLC and Oxford College of Business (Private) Limited were awarded as first and second runners-up respectively, in this category.
Top Ten Corporate Citizens
This Award recognises the ten most sustainable corporates which have implemented outstanding sustainability initiatives under both ‘Category A & B’. This year, the Top Ten awards include a joint winner, bringing the total number of winners to 11. Aitken Spence PLC, CBL Investments Limited (CBL Group), Citizens Development Business Finance PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, Dialog Axiata PLC, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC, Hatton National Bank PLC, National Development Bank PLC, Nestlé Lanka PLC, Sampath Bank PLC and Sri Lanka Telecom PLC were recognised as the Top Ten Corporate Citizens of 2021.
Triple Bottom-line Awards
Awarded to companies with the best performance in the three sustainability pillars of Planet (Environmental Sustainability), People (Social Sustainability) and Profit (Economic Sustainability), Nestle Lanka PLC won the Award for Environmental Sustainability, while Aitken Spence PLC and Dipped Products PLS were awarded the Social Sustainability and Economic Sustainability Awards respectively.
Category Awards
Nestlé Lanka PLC, won the Corporate Environmental Commitment Award for its corporate policies and business practices towards Environment and Social sustainability priority and the assignment of suitable individuals to manage and sustain such policies and practices, as well as the Environment Beyond Business Award for going the extra mile to safeguard the environment and ensure a cleaner and greener future together with relevant communities.
Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC, won the Environmental Integration Award for its endeavors to reduce the environmental footprint via corporate decisions and the introduction of innovative technology to maintain environmental sustainability within the business, as well as the Customer Relations for continuing to set the benchmark for adopting engaging and strategic approaches to working with all stakeholders to achieve end goals.
Aitken Spence PLC and Citizens Development Business Finance PLC were joint winners of the Employee Relations Award, for maintaining sustainable standards towards employees in all aspects and demonstrating engagement in their sustainability practices
Aitken Spence PLC, won the Community Relations Award for steps taken to highlight that corporate community relations activities are the Golden Key to the success of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Sampath Bank PLC, won the Governance Award for displaying high standards of governance in the structure and composition of their Board and Board Committees, their practices to ensure ethical behavior and their reporting to shareholders.
Dipped Products PLC, won the Financial Performance award for admirable achievements of profitability and return to shareholders, with a prudent and sustainable view on financing and liquidity.
Dialog Axiata PLC, won the Economic Contribution award for facilitating job creation and transformation of remote regions of the country, supporting economic and social development through rural credit and SME and micro-finance programmes designed to advance rural economies.
Sector Based Sustainability Champions
The Sector Awards recognise the best sustainability performance in sectors that each corporate represents. The Awards were won by Kelani Valley Plantations PLC in the Agriculture Sector, Access Engineering in the Construction Sector, Aitken Spence PLC in Diversified Holdings, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC in the Finance Sector, Dialog Axiata PLC in the Knowledge Services Sector, CBL Investments Limited (CBL Group) in the Manufacturing sector, while Sri Lanka Telecom PLC won an award under the ‘Other’ category.
Consistent Commitment and Continuous Improvement
Category Awards for consistent commitment and demonstrated improvement, awarded to corporates that participated in The Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award process for a minimum of three of the last five years. Aitken Spence PLC won the majority of the Consistent Commitment and Continuous Improvement certificates including those for Environmental Commitment, Environmental Integration, Environment Beyond the Business, Employee Relations, Customer Relations and Community Relations. The Governance certificate was awarded to Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, the Financial Performance certificate was awarded to Sirio Ltd. and the Economic Contribution certificate was awarded to Bank of Ceylon.
Award for Demonstrated Resilient Practices for COVID-19 Context
Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC and Hatton National Bank PLC were joint winners under the newly introduced award on Demonstrated Resilient Practices for COVID-19 Context Award while Citizens Development Business Finance PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC were the second runners-up.
Best Projects Sustainability Awards 2021
‘Best Projects Sustainability Awards’ recognise and encourage the efforts of the private/public sector to engage in specific projects relating to key aspects of sustainability including economic, environment, governance and social issues relevant to the organization and in response to contextual needs. Eight Projects have been recognized for Best Projects Sustainability Awards this year. Accordingly, CBL Natural Foods (Pvt) Limited was awarded for its project on Sustainable Sourcing of Pineapple in partnership with the Agriculture Sector Modernization Project, Elpitiya Plantations PLC for its Go Green and Beyond project, Hirdaramani Knit Mihila (CKT Apparel) Pvt Limited for Gender Inclusive Responsible Workplace – a participatory approach to deploying a Gender Inclusive Policy, MAS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd for MAS Ocean Strainer, Merrill J. Fernando Charitable Foundation (MJFCF) for its project on disABILITY – Supporting Children with Disabilities (CWDs) and their families across Sri Lanka, Plenty Foods (Pvt) Limited for CBL-ILO partnership project to drive inclusive agricultural livelihood development in the Northern Province, Taprobane Seafoods (Pvt) Ltd for The Sri Lankan Blue Swimming Crab (SLBSC) fishery improvement project (FIP) and Western Power Company (Pvt) Ltd for A Sustainable Solution to Solve Sri Lanka’s Waste Problem: The success story of Sri Lanka’s First Waste to Energy Power Plant Project, “10MW Colombo Waste to Energy Power Plant”
Merit Certificates
‘Merit Certificates’ were awarded to Sustainability Projects that require enhancements in performance in order to be considered Best Sustainability Projects and were awarded to the following companies: Cargills Ceylon PLC for Climate-Smart Agri Modernization Programme (a sub-project under the Cargills Sarubima initiative), Hayleys Fabric PLC for an eco-friendly method of fabric dyeing using natural dye extracted from Mahogany bark (Swietenia macrophylla), Premium Exports Ceylon (Private) Limited – Unilever Sri Lanka for Re-purposing of Black Tea Waste (Broken Mixed Fannings), Sampath Bank PLC for ‘Wewata Jeewayak’ and Unilever Sri Lanka Limited for Purpose, Wellbeing & Youth: Empowering people with purpose to thrive.
Best Presented Application
CBL Investments Limited (CBL Group) and Citizens Development Business Finance PLC were joint winners of this Award.
The offerings at the Colombo Tea Auction were fairly similar to last and totalled 4.6 million kilogrammes, which met with fair demand, often at irregular rates.
The Ex-Estate offerings too were fairly similar and totalled 0.73 million kilogrammes.
The overall quality of the teas from the Western slopes were irregularly improved, whilst the teas from most other regions were fairly similar to last. The prices for the better teas were irregular, perhaps to some extent following quality, whilst the encouraging feature was the strong demand for the teas at the lower end of the market.
Improved activity from the shippers to South Africa was seen. Selective interest from the shippers to the UK and continent, whilst the shippers to China and the CIS continued to operate as usual.
The Select Best Western BOPs were firm and often up to Rs.50 per kilogramme easier, whilst the others appreciated by Rs.50-100 per kilogramme, following quality. The corresponding BOPFs Select invoices, appreciated sharply, following special inquiry, whilst the others were irregular and easier. In the Below Best category, the BOPs sold around last week’s levels. The corresponding BOPFs Improved sorts, were firm and dearer, whilst the others were irregular and mostly easier.
The plainer BOP/BOPFs sold around last week’s levels. The Nuwara Eliya BOPs sold around last. The corresponding BOPFs – Select invoices, appreciated, whilst the others were difficult of sale.
The Uva/Uda Pussellawa BOPs sold around last week’s levels. The corresponding BOPFs – Uda Pussellawas, were firm and up to Rs.20 per kilogramme dearer. The Uvas - Select clean leaf teas, appreciated by up to Rs.50 per kilogramme and more, whilst the poorer sorts declined by a similar margin.
The High and Medium Grown CTC teas were mostly firm, whilst the Low Grown varieties, particularly the PF1s, were marginally easier and more so for the poorer sorts.
A wider selection of improved Westerns is on offer next week and the producers no doubt would eagerly look forward to being adequately compensated.
The Low Growns comprised of 2.15 million kilogrammes. The Leafy and Semi-Leafy categories met with fair demand, whilst the Tippy category met with good demand. In the Leafy catalogues, few Select Best OP1s appreciated, whilst the balance together with the BOP1s sold around last levels. The Select Best OPAs declined, whilst the balance maintained. The OPs, in general, appreciated. The well-made PEK/PEK1s were easier, whilst the balance sold around last levels.
In the Tippy catalogues, the FBOPs were firm to dearer, whilst the bolder varieties were irregular. The well-made FF1s were firm to dearer, whilst the clean leaf Below Best and clean leaf teas at the bottom appreciated. The balance was firm.
In the Premium catalogues, the very Tippy teas met with good demand and were dearer. The Best and Below Best too appreciated, whilst the balance sold around last levels.
Lower-priced fertilisers for tea soon
Sri Lanka would see an increase in tea output this year, as plans are afoot to provide high-quality tea fertilisers at a lower price.
Agriculture and Plantation Minister Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday said that steps are taken to allow the government-owned fertiliser companies to make available these fertilisers at a lower rate.
Accordingly, Commercial Fertiliser Company and Ceylon Fertiliser Company have initiated measures to manufacture all required tea fertilisers.
There has been a recent increase in the prices of fertilisers like T-200, T-750, U-709, U 834 and T 65, which are commonly used for tea cultivation, he said.
Commercial Fertiliser Company and Ceylon Fertiliser Company have initiated measures to manufacture all required tea fertilisers.
“The price of these fertilisers will be set at least Rs.2000 below the market price. We believe that adhering to the government’s plan of providing fertilisers at subsidised prices will significantly contribute to enhancing tea cultivation yields,” said Amaraweera.
Comments
(In keeping with the objectives of this website, all COMMENTS must be made in the spirit of contributing to the history of this estate, planter or person i.e. names, dates & anecdotes. Critical evaluations or adverse comments of any sort are not acceptable and will be deleted without notice – read full Comments Policy here)