The Planters' Association of Ceylon News
Perched beside the Nanu Oya railway station, built in 1885 to carry Dimbula's tea down to Colombo, Somerset remains one of the most accessible, and most storied, high-grown estates in the region. Its heritage rests on three threads: machinery and families that have outlived generations of planters, a steady embrace of new technology, and a standard of quality that has never wavered. Somerset is not a relic, but a working estate, still carrying forward a story that began nearly a century and a half ago.
The Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) is calling on the government to treat the systematic theft of high-value agricultural crops as a serious economic threat, warning that unchecked losses are deterring investment, eroding export competitiveness and putting the livelihoods of farmers at risk.
Across Sri Lanka’s plantation districts, the organised theft of pepper, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, avocado and other high-value crops has reached a scale that the industry says can no longer be dismissed as an isolated or manageable problem.
The Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) and Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT) have reiterated its commitment to supporting estate communities affected by the devastating cyclone Ditwah disaster, facilitating relief and rehabilitation assistance through a combination of emergency response initiatives and long-term reconstruction projects.
Following the cyclone, the RPCs were among the first responders on the ground.
Rethinking Oil Palm: Biodiversity, Evidence and Sri Lanka’s Policy Dilemma
Sri Lanka’s decision to phase out oil palm cultivation has been shaped by perception rather than policy. At the center of the debate lies a powerful claim: that oil palm poses a significant threat to biodiversity and the environment. Scientific evidence however, suggests the contrary.
The current footprint of oil palm in Sri Lanka is relatively small - around 11,000 hectares and has largely been established through the conversion of rubber lands rather than forests.
The Planters' Association of Ceylon (PA), the apex body of Sri Lanka's Plantation industry, has called for an urgent review and streamlining of the industry's cost structures in light of the unprecedented crisis in West Asia and the Strait of Hormuz.
Currently, approximately 45% of Sri Lanka’s total annual Tea exports – equivalent to approximately US$ 680 million of Sri Lanka's total US$ 1.
The Planters' Association of Ceylon (PA), the apex body of Sri Lanka's plantation industry, expressed growing concern over rising prices and limited availability of fertilizer amid the escalation of the crisis in the Middle East.
With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, shipping traffic through the region is reported to have dropped by 90%.
Since 1947, when its current factory rose from the site of an earlier 1942 structure, Kenilworth Tea Estate has crafted teas renowned for their long, wiry, well-twisted leaves; blacker, cleaner, and meticulously rolled through an extended 2.5-hour Orthodox process that yields a coppery-bright infusion with creamy, full-bodied strength, woody frankness, and subtle citrus notes. Perched in Sri Lanka’s Central Province near Ginigathena, this medium-grown powerhouse under Hatton Plantations PLC produces 14 grades of premium leafy and semi-leafy black tea from high-yielding VP clones like TRI 2043, securing top prices at the Colombo Tea Auction with its robust breakfast blend that pairs seamlessly with milk.
The Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) has called for the implementation of a more sustainable electricity tariff framework and energy generation policy, citing the severe economic strain faced by the plantation sector and other export-oriented industries due to prohibitively high electricity tariffs.
The PA’s appeal comes at a critical juncture, with public consultations on the Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) most recent proposal to the PUCSL for a 13.
With the heighted consensus on the need for climate change mitigation and adaption, the Sri Lankan plantation industry is now faced with one of the most consequential transformations in its 172 year history as a growing segment of the industry plots a course for Net Zero emissions.
With global buyers, financiers and regulators push for low-carbon supply chains, the move toward net zero has become both an environmental duty and a commercial necessity.