The Tea Exporters Association (TEA) held its 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Grand Marquee, Taj Samudra Hotel, bringing together stakeholders, government officials and industry leaders under the theme "Navigating Challenges."

The AGM confirmed the re-appointing of Mr. Huzefa Akbarally as Chairman for 2026/2027. Delivering his address, Chairman Mr. Huzefa Akbarally said: "This has been a particularly challenging year for the tea industry, with the current global conflicts and geopolitical tensions, Cyclone Ditwa, abolishment of SVAT, reduction in tea production, and issues related to quality. In total, about 85% of Ceylon Tea shipping routes have been disrupted, many having to go around the Cape of Good Hope. Freight rates have increased, in many cases, by a few-fold. Even with the challenges that we are facing, it is remarkable that Ceylon Tea exports have been resilient. Hopefully, peace will return and potentially we will be able to ship another 100 million kilos." Turning to production, he added: "We have the expertise. We have the tea exporting companies that have production capacity. We have factories that have production capacity for more leaves. All we need is additional green leaves to drive us forward. Each smallholder family can potentially get about Rs. 94,000 per month. That is about a fourfold increase in their income." He said the industry could realistically reach 350 million kilos by 2030 with government support and highlighted block infilling as a low-cost way to raise smallholder productivity and incomes. He also renewed calls to restore the Tea Board brand promotion scheme, the value-added export incentive, and imports of spices used in value-added tea.

Delivering the Keynote Address, Dr. Nishan De Mel, Founder and Executive Director of Verite Research, said his institute places Sri Lanka in a relatively strong position on exposure and buffers against the 2026 economic shocks. He said: "Tourism fell only 1.8%, and remittances increased 21.4% up to the end of July compared to 2025. The increased cost we pay for oil will turn out to be almost exactly offset by the increase in remittances. If the crisis had not happened, we would be doing a lot better. But having happened, we are not doing much worse." Reviewing the 2022 debt crisis recovery, he added: "Sri Lanka did really well on the macro-fiscal indicators, on the numbers that the IMF cares about, but rather poorly on socio-economic indicators, on the things that people care about. We more than doubled poverty in our country, and only Belize did worse than Sri Lanka on employment." On the estate sector's Rs. 200 wage increase, he said: "We see this additional 200 as rather sensible. It addresses some of the regressive nature of Sri Lanka's recovery, where we neglected the poor. It gives estate workers the same value increase as the industry received through exports, adjusts for the consumer price index, and does something to reduce the very high levels of poverty in the estate sector." He urged mature industries to advance their proposals through transparent, evidence-based policy frameworks that the public can understand and support, rather than relying primarily on access or influence.

As the apex body representing Sri Lanka's tea exporting community, TEA continues to advocate for policies that strengthen Ceylon Tea's competitiveness on the world stage. Despite a year marked by geopolitical shocks, shipping disruptions and natural disaster, the industry remains resilient, and with the right government support for smallholders, quality standards and market diversification, Ceylon Tea is well placed to navigate today's challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

TEA also held its 7th Outstanding Tea Producers Award Ceremony, recognizing top estates and factories across Ruhuna, Sabaragamuwa, Kandy, Dimbula, Uva, Nuwara Eliya and the Low Grown CTC category.

Dr. Nishan De Mel, Founder and Executive Director of Verite Research

Mr. Huzefa Akbarally as Chairman for 2026/2027