斯里蘭卡近期陷入政治和財政動蕩，因為大規(guī)模的示威活動仍在繼續(xù)，這個擁有2200萬人口的國家正在苦苦掙扎。食品通脹超過50%，烹飪煤氣、燃料和可靠電力嚴重短缺，多種因素引發(fā)騷亂。斯里蘭卡外債違約，貨幣貶值，信用評級阻礙了外部投資。政府銀行家在國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)的救助談判中陷入僵局，因為提到多種艱難的改革，包括提高稅收和政府變革。茶葉生產商正面臨著上述所有挑戰(zhàn)，但錫蘭茶葉品牌仍然具有彈性。去年，錫蘭茶產業(yè)創(chuàng)造了13.2億美元的外匯，出口3億噸茶葉，其中2.7億噸是高價值的條形茶。
Sri Lanka is in turmoil politically and financially; the country of 22 million is struggling as widespread demonstrations continue. Unrest is tied to food inflation exceeding 50%, with critical shortages of cooking gas, fuel, and reliable electricity. The country has defaulted on its foreign debt, and its currency devalues with a credit rating that discourages outside investment. Government bankers are at an impasse in negotiating a bailout from the International Monetary Fund that will depend on difficult reforms, including higher taxes and governance changes. Tea producers are confronting all the above challenges, yet the Ceylon tea brand remains resilient. Last year, the industry generated $1.32 billion in US foreign currency, exporting 300 million tons of tea, of which 270 million was high-value orthodox tea.
與2020年相比，2021年錫蘭茶葉出口收入增長了6.72%。根據出口發(fā)展局的數據，截至12月，每個子類別都報告了數據增長，袋泡茶出口增長84%，預包裝茶葉增長10%，散裝茶銷售額增長2.5%，速溶茶銷售額增長19.5%，綠茶增長22.8%。
Export earnings increased 6.72% during the 2021 calendar year compared to 2020. Every subcategory reported growth, with exports of tea bags growing 84%, tea packets up 10%, sales of bulk tea up 2.5%, instant tea sales of 19.5%, and green tea up 22.8% through December, according to the Export Development Board.
Niraj de Mel與Bigelow 茶葉公司的首席執(zhí)行官Cindi Bigelow和Prasanna Panabrooke
行業(yè)資深人士Niraj De Mel于2022年6月被任命為斯里蘭卡茶葉局主席，這是他自2004年以后，第二次被任命此職位。在他與PMD茶葉公司總經理Dananjaya Silva的對話中，Niraj de Mel解釋了斯里蘭卡茶產業(yè)面臨的挑戰(zhàn)和解決方案。
Industry veteran Niraj De Mel was named Chairman of the Sri Lankan Tea Board in June 2022, his second appointment to a position that he previously held in 2004. In this discussion with correspondent Dananjaya Silva, Managing Director at PMD Tea, de Mel explains the challenges and solutions facing Sri Lanka’s tea industry.
斯里蘭卡依靠有韌性的茶葉產業(yè)
Sri Lanka Relies on a Resilient Tea Industry
在他45年的茶葉職業(yè)生涯中，Niraj de Mel曾擔任評茶師、代理商、出口商和教育者。他曾是斯里蘭卡茶葉出口商協(xié)會和科倫坡經紀人協(xié)會的前任主席，并曾擔任科倫坡茶葉貿易商協(xié)會的副主席。他是科倫坡梅爾茶學院的創(chuàng)始人和負責人。
During his 45 years in tea, Niraj de Mel has worked as a taster, broker, exporter, and educator. He is past chairman of the Tea Exporter’s Association and the Colombo Brokers Association and served as vice chairman of the Colombo Tea Traders Association. He is the founder and director of The Mel’s Tea Academy in Colombo.
Dananjaya Silva：有專業(yè)人士表示，看到您回到斯里蘭卡茶葉局重新掌舵時，他們感到非常高興。鑒于當前的政治局勢，您的職位安全性如何?
Dananjaya Silva – Tea professionals globally say they are happy to see a safe and steady hand on the tiller as you return to steer the Sri Lanka Tea Board. Given the current political situation, how secure is your position?
Niraj de Mel：首先，讓我告訴您關于我6月20日任命之前的一些情況。在五月中旬，行業(yè)代表們聚在一起，告訴了當局他們的想法。此外，他們還決定了最適合茶葉研究所和斯里蘭卡茶葉局職位的人。出于顯而易見的原因，我被要求回到我以前的職位上。前任主席與他們一起見了種植業(yè)部的部長，尊敬的Ramesh Pathirana博士，討論了這些事情，并告訴他，由于關于肥料的錯誤決定而出現重大損失，現在是時候聽專家的了。此外，整個行業(yè)也將確切地告訴他們事情應該如何運行。在過去的155年里，我們一直在這樣做，正是通過那次談話，我今天坐在這個位置上。
Niraj de Mel – Well, to start, let me tell you a bit about the developments before my appointment [on June 20]. Come the middle of May, the industry got together, and because they thought it was time, we told the authorities what we knew best and what was best for the industry. So, arising from that, they also decided on the people best suited best-suited for the positions at the TRI [Tea Research Institute] and the Sri Lanka Tea Board. I was asked to step back into my previous role as chair for obvious reasons. The immediate past chairman went along with this delegation and met the minister [Minister of Plantation Industries, the Hon. (Dr.) Ramesh Pathirana] to discuss these things and told him that after the debacle as a result of a wrong decision on fertilizer, it’s time that we get the feedback from the experts. Plus, the industry will tell them exactly how things should be run. We have been doing this for the last 155 years, and it’s arising from that conversation that I’m in this seat today.
Dananjaya Silva：去年10月，包括大多數化肥在內的化學投入品被禁令停止進口，這個事的影響依然存在。
Dananjaya Silva – The ban on importing chemical inputs, including most fertilizers, was halted in October, but the effects of the setback linger.
Niraj de Mel：錯誤已經造成，但情況已經改變。因為俄烏戰(zhàn)爭，世界上一些最大的化肥供應商之間出現矛盾。從那以后，化肥稀缺，價格飆升，而我們的貨幣本身也貶值了，這讓普通茶農面臨的問題更加復雜?，F在他們幾乎不可能負擔得起化肥的價格。
Niraj de Mel – Mistakes were made, but circumstances that led to that decision have changed. The big development is a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war, a conflict between some of the world’s largest fertilizer suppliers. Fertilizer has since become scarce and prices went sky high, impacting Sri Lanka at a time when our currency itself also depreciated, compounding matters for the average tea farmer. It’s now virtually impossible for him to afford this kind of price.
為了解決這個問題，斯里蘭卡茶葉局自1月份以來一直在考慮一個倡議。我從會議記錄中看到，他們希望從促銷稅中籌集資金，用于促進貸款計劃，以便農民獲得肥料，用于這些缺乏營養(yǎng)的茶樹。
To address that, the Sri Lanka Tea Board considered an initiative that has been knocking on the door since January. I see from the minutes a request for funds from the promotion levy to be used to facilitate a loan scheme so that farmers get fertilizer to start feeding these bushes, which have been starved for nutrients.
斯里蘭卡茶葉局已向近100家工廠交付了肥料，以提供給小農戶和區(qū)域茶園。他們正在努力確保茶園在大約一個半月時間內有足夠的肥料。
The board has since delivered fertilizer to nearly 100 factories to offer to smallholders and regional plantation companies. They are working to ensure that the estates will have sufficient fertilizer within about one and a half months.
來源：中國茶葉流通協(xié)會
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