Reception on occasion Celebrated 175th Anniversary of Planting of Tea in Sri Lanka
12th February 2014
175th Anniversary of Ceylon Tea industry was celebrated in grandiose scale in Moscow, Russia, Sri Lanka’s biggest tea market. The programme was organized by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Moscow under the guidance of His Excellency the Ambassador. The event was held at the Chancery building of the Sri Lanka Embassy on the 12th February 2014 with the participation of a large gathering. Amongst the crowd, a considerable number of tea trade businessmen from Russia and other CIS countries such as Ukraine and Armenia were also present. The total representation from the business community was around 100 and, out of which at least a half was represented by the Sri Lanka tea businessmen and the rest were from CIS countries. In addition to the Sri Lankan business community living in the Russian Federation, Officials of Government Ministries of the Russian Federation and representatives of Chambers were also present at the occasion. Presence of new businessmen with the potential to do tea trade with Sri Lanka could be considered a significant achievement of the programme.
A PowerPoint presentation was conducted in Russian language by His Excellency Prof. Udayanga Weeratunga during the event. He elaborated on the significance of the day for Sri Lanka and briefly narrated the process of evolution of Ceylon Tea as a commercial industry in Sri Lanka. He explained the fact that the Ceylon Tea industry has evolved to a greater magnitude from the inception in 1839 and emphasized that there is more room for further expansion and development.
Tea statistics displayed during the presentation took the attention of the businessmen and was food for thought for further discussion on the subject. Export market statistics of Sri Lanka and market share in the Russian tea market for Sri Lanka tea was discussed at length. The actual data presented during this presentation was an eye opener even for most of the members of the tea business community. Further the Ambassador explained the remarkable development achieved by the Sri Lanka tourism industry through the Russian market and stated that same can be applied to develop the Sri Lanka tea market in Russia. He also made a request from the Sri Lankan participants to make a genuine effort together with the regulatory bodies to develop the tea industry in Russia.
In the end of the programme, all guests were served with Sri Lankan tea Randy and were served with traditional Sri Lankan cuisine which was enjoyed and appreciated by the gathering.
