BIZ

Sri Lanka-Iran ‘tea-for-oil’ barter agreement progresses with over $20 million settled

Published

1 year ago

February 1, 2024

nipuni

The ongoing Sri Lanka and Iran ‘tea-for-oil’ barter agreement is now making strong progress and Sri Lanka has already settled over USD 20 million to Iran.

“This agreement was to settle a total of USD 250 million for purchases made by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) for oil imported from Iran in 2012”, said Chairman Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) Niraj De Mel in a special interview with ‘Daily News Business’.

In a bid to save draining of foreign exchange from Sri Lanka to service the high petroleum imports the then Minister of Finance, Mangala Samaraweera and Dr. Romesh Pathirana talked to National Iranian Oil Company of Iran officials since 2019 to trade tea instead of paying in USD when purchasing fuel to protect local forex reserves.

The barter was agreed in 2021 for oil imported in 2012 however due to the economic crisis this deal was only signed last year.

“Since then we have made very strong progress and up to December 2023 we have settled around USD 20 million.”

Explaining the modalities of the agreement he said that the local tea exporters to Iran get paid in Sri Lanka rupees by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.

SLTB will be settling payments to Sri Lanka tea exporters upon confirmation of tea consignments are shipped to Iran by the tea exporters. This is scrutinized through a recognized Audit Firm.

“The agreement is to send USD 5 million worth of tea each month to Iran for 48 months.”

De Mel said that with Iran facing a cold climate in the next few months we expect the demand for local tea to increase.

“Hence we have requested the Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera to increase the monthly USD 5 allocation (equivalent to Sri Lankan rupees) made by them to local tea exporters. We have requested the Minister to increase this to USD 10 million and he has responded to this request positively.”

De Mel said that though there are some international restrictions imposed on Iran this ‘tea-for-oil’ barter agreement does not violate it.

“This scheme will not violate any UN or US sanctions since tea has been categorized as a food item under humanitarian grounds while none of the black listed Iranian banks will be involved in the equation.”

The total revenue realized for the period January – December 2023 from tea exports was USD 1.31 billion compared with USD 1.27 Billion recorded for the period January to December 2022.

The increase of tea exports was USD 1.31 billion compared to the same period in 2022.

BIZ

1st stock of imported coconut milk to undergo clearance, lab testing today

Published

1 hour ago

May 31, 2025

editor

The first consignment of imported coconut milk under the Government’s raw material importation programme is scheduled to undergo clearance and laboratory testing today (31), as part of a coordinated initiative by the Plantation Industries Ministry.

This initiative, approved by the Cabinet, aims to supply essential raw materials to industries linked to the coconut sector, aiming to reduce domestic coconut prices and support local manufacturers. The consignment currently under clearance includes products equivalent to 200 million coconuts. They are in the forms of frozen coconut milk, coconut milk powder and chunked coconut with testa (non-copra), imported as part of the programme initiated in March 2025. The stock will be used primarily in the coconut milk powder industry, which has been facing raw material shortages. The Plantation Industries Ministry expects this move to reduce the pressure on local coconut supplies and contribute to a drop in retail coconut prices.

(dailynews.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

BIZ

BoC employees to strike over unpaid incentives

Published

2 days ago

May 29, 2025

editor

Employees of all Bank of Ceylon (BoC) branches have decided to walk out of service at 12.30 pm today (May 29).

The decision has been taken over the current management not taking the initiative to provide them with the 06-month incentive package approved by the Board of Directors, according to the Bank Employees’ Union.

Central Committee member of the Bank Employees’ Union – Najith Wijeratne, stated that they will initiate a token strike if this issue is not resolved by June 06.

BoC employees have also held lunchtime protests yesterday (May 28) in front of 22 branches in major cities islandwide.

BIZ

Imported salt released to market

Published

2 days ago

May 29, 2025

editor

The National Salt Ltd. says that 2,800 MT of salt imported from India have been released to the market.

It says the food-grade salt stock, which arrived on May 23, is being distributed to the market through local salt sales agents for consumer sale.

The Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development states that Lanka Salt Ltd. is importing 10,000 MT of salt, while over 100 importers, including those from Pettah, are bringing in an additional 100,000 MT.