Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/556538
56 STiR tea & coffee industry international / Issue 4, 2015 (August/September) David De Candia is Sri Lanka's tea ambassa- sor to the US and Canada. Lumbini Tea Estate seeks to align sustainability practices with consumer expectations. The plantation produces 600,000 kilos of tea annually. "This is a good thing, we want that, but unfortunately the price of tea isn't increasing at the same rate," said Marc Monsarrat, senior manager of the Tea Program at Rainforest Alliance. "What we find is that some of the estates are struggling with the cost of production." At Lumbini Estates in southern Sri Lanka owner Dayapala Jayawardana processes 12,000 kilos of tea daily at a factory awarded many certifications for efficiency in producing prize-winning tea. Lumbini mainly produces black tea but is getting record prices ($580 a kilo) for specialty grades. The company strategy is to recover its higher cost of production by selling higher priced specialty teas in export markets. To do so the estate launched the Ladaluchakra brand, named Sri Lanka's most innovative tea, and the patented Jayachakra line, which was well received in Japan, said Chaminda Jayawardane, c.e.o. In 2009 Japanese buyers paid 26,000 yen ($325) per kilo for this tea. Lumbini invests a lot of time and money developing the right attitude and skills, he said. "Our vision is to be the best tea manufacturer in Sri Lanka and we achieved it with team work," he said. In addition to a minimum wage, the Sri Lankan government also mandates education and has prohibited child labor. As a direct result, the literacy rate of estate workers' children at Walter's Bay is now one of the highest in the tea industry, said Christian Weber, vp of sales. Weber believes that sellers at auction should ask for even more. "Sri Lanka, as far as we can tell, has some of the highest standards when it comes to the social welfare of the workers in the tea plantations," said Weber. "When you get tea from Sri Lanka you are paying more, but you are get- ting a better product. First of all, you are getting a guarantee that there is a minimum standard of living for the workers. "Increased awareness of both Sri Lanka's sustainability efforts and the quality of the tea are necessary to ensure that these higher prices are maintained," he said. Sri Lanka is committed to producing 100% orthodox, Ceylon tea but most is sold in bulk. Only 5% of exports by volume are high-value tea. This is largely because 70% of Sri Lanka's tea is produced by smallholders. These small farms, usually fewer than 20 acres (10 hectares), are often family-owned or small op- erations with a few field workers. There are incentives to produce good tea. The law requires that small hold- ers be paid at least 58% of the net sales average of the factories. If tea prices increase, then the workers will in turn receive more money. Connecting wages to price works well, said Weber, noting that Walter's Bay often pays more than the required minimum. He said that while smallholders receive enough to maintain a reasonable quality life, more is needed. With four processing factories throughout Sri Lanka, Walter's Bay processes tea grown on their own garden and also those from small holders. These "bought leaf" tea factories work directly with local smallholders. In 2013, Walter's Bay began a Growers Em- powerment Program (GEP) to further enhance the livelihood of these small holder farmers. The GEP supports smallholders beyond the minimum. For example, Walter's Bay owns one of the larger nurseries and often provides the farmers with new plants, plucking baskets and the assistance of field agronomists to help them get better yields. "We look at the system as a long term strategy where we can help farmers earn a better living, and make more money, in turn we get better leaf and we can make more money," said Weber. According to De Candia, one of the key ben- efits of caring for the tea growers is that that atten- tion will transfer to the product. "When you build from within like that, the product is going to come out good and consistent because you are taking care of your estate workers," said De Candia. "You have to do that; you can't neglect that because I think your product will show it at the end of the day." Fernando hopes that increased awareness of Ceylon tea will align the industry's principles of sus- tainability with consumers. In the last five years, the Sri Lankan tea industry has placed a strong empha- sis on conservative agricultural practices, including building environmentally responsive practices and strict controls over the use of chemicals, making it the cleanest tea in the world. "This gives Ceylon tea unique appeal amongst consumers," said Fernando. "However it requires more concerted effort in relation to enhancing pro- ductivity both to agricultural practices such as re- planting, wider adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and soil management." Photo courtesy Lumbini Tea Estate.