The Planters' Association of Ceylon News
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.
The Ceylon Planters’ Provident Society (CPPS), one of the first private provident funds established in Sri Lanka, marks its centenary on 10 March 2026 – a hundred years since the Society was officially inaugurated in Kandy to provide members of the planting profession with a secure retirement.
What began as a voluntary retirement savings scheme with 331 members in its first year has grown into a robust, legally mandated provident fund serving over 1,700 members today.
Sri Lanka’s rubber industry entered 2025 under mounting pressure from weakening global demand and policy uncertainty to persistent disease outbreaks, labour shortages and rising production costs. By 2026, a further 15% wage increase intensified existing cost pressures, raising concerns about the long-term viability of rubber plantations.
While the sector has long played a strategic role in export earnings and domestic manufacturing, industry leaders now warn that without timely intervention, rubber risks becoming economically unviable across large parts of the country.
From Golden Valleys to Green Futures - The Journey of Bogawana Estate
Bogawana Estate lies in the heart of the Bogawantalawa Valley, widely known as the “Golden Valley of Ceylon Tea.” Its story begins in the late 19th century, when the island’s coffee plantations collapsed under the weight of a devastating fungal disease.
Cannavarella Estate: Nurturing Land, People and Heritage Since 1880
Established in 1880, Cannavarella Estate stands among the most historically significant plantations in Sri Lanka, carrying a legacy that intertwines agricultural heritage, colonial transitions and modern development. Its story begins with the cultivation of chinchona, a medicinal bark used to produce quinine, which is a vital treatment for malaria at the time, introduced when coffee estates across the island were failing.