Only 19 years left on plantation leases: Six key reforms proposed to secure industry’s future

Lanka Business Online and Newswire report that Shanaka Samaradiwakara, chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon, is urging a changed approach to plantation investment in Sri Lanka. They say regional plantation companies have 19 years remaining on their leases. Samaradiwakara says a tea planting may need five years before its first harvest, around ten years to deliver substantial returns, and over two decades for the investment to be recovered.

Lanka Business Online and Newswire cite World Bank estimates that Sri Lanka’s agrifood system produces about one-sixth of national output, employs more than 40% of the workforce and accounts for close to 30% of goods exports. They report that tea production in the first seven months of 2026 was down 3% to 152.5 million kilograms, sheet rubber output had fallen by nearly 18%, and tea export revenue had declined from US$743 million to US$701 million.

Lanka Business Online and Newswire say labour represents about 65% of production costs, and estimate the Rs. 200 wage rise increased industry spending by Rs. 6 billion. They report fertiliser prices climbing from roughly Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 220,000 per metric tonne amid disruption near the Strait of Hormuz, alongside higher freight and energy expenses.

Lanka Business Online and Newswire report that erratic rainfall, extended drought and a smaller workforce are complicating production. They say plantation firms are responding with automation, higher-value goods and alternative crops, while regional plantation companies oversee about one-quarter of the country’s tea acreage. Samaradiwakara’s article says greater policy certainty is needed to make long-horizon investment viable.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.