Ukrainians and Russians will still drink tea! – Tea Board Chairman | Daily News

Ukrainians and Russians will still drink tea! – Tea Board Chairman

Tea Board Chairman  Jayampathy Molligoda
Tea Board Chairman Jayampathy Molligoda

Tea Board Chairman Jayampathy Molligoda opined that the Ukraine-Russia conflict would not impact the demand for tea in those countries. Molligoda didn’t foresee issues with logistics but did expect issues with remittances of export proceeds.

Molligoda however expected banking services through China into Russia to remain open and the issue to be less cumbersome to our exporters than the longstanding issue with Iran. Molligoda noted that unlike the Sri Lankan currency the Russian Ruble had depreciated and that would impact the revenues for exporters which are facing inflated costs to the artificially strong local currency.

Molligoda noted that both Russia and Ukraine remained important export markets for Sri Lankan tea exporters. Molligoda said that his predictions were contingent on the duration of the conflict remaining short.

Molligoda noted that there had been a limited impact in terms of crop output from the plantations due to the fertilizer shortage in the market. Molligoda however warned that the entire agricultural sector would be impacted by the skyrocketing urea prices which have increased by 25% in the current crisis.


Add new comment