Tea from the verdant green estates that span the central Sri Lankan hills is consumed in cups all around the world.
The largest export from the island is tea, which typically generates more than $1 billion annually, but the sector is being severely impacted by the exceptional economic crisis.
Smaller farmers like Rohan Tilak Gurusinghe, who has two acres of land near the village of Kadugunnawa, are responsible for the majority of Sri Lanka’s tea production.
But he’s still feeling the effects of the government’s rash, ill-considered move to outlaw chemical fertiliser last year.
He lamentably tells, “I’m losing money.” “I can’t even look at the long term of my business without energy or fertilizer.”
The prohibition was one of many terrible policy mistakes enacted by the now-ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with agricultural output sharply declining. The restriction was ordered to try to protect the nation’s decreasing foreign reserves
Although it was later reversed, the price of fertilizer has skyrocketed and it is now impossible to find, and the government is no longer able to afford to import sufficient amounts of gasoline and diesel.
Delays might result in the leaves withering out and losing quality for farmers like Mr. Gurusinghe who depend on trucks to transport tea leaves from his fields to factories for preparation.
He said, “Our leaders don’t care about giving us the fundamental essentials.”
Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, is not the only place where there are long lines of cars awaiting fuel; the entire island is affected.
President Rajapaksa has resigned as a result of the situation, which is also a result of the Covid-19 pandemic’s effects on the island’s tourism sector.
Additionally, protesters have stated they won’t accept Ranil Wickremesinghe, the politician who appears to have the best chance of being chosen by parliament to succeed Mr. Rajapaksa.
Critics believe Mr. Wickremesinghe is too close to the Rajapaksa family. He doesn’t embody the transformation demonstrators have demanded as a former six-term prime minister.
However, growing political unrest will make it harder to end the financial recession.
There is a great deal of anger among owners of tea factories. Although the sector employs almost two million people and tea exports are a significant source of income, production levels have decreased.
In Ancoombra, Meezan Mohideen is in charge of a sizable estate and factory. “It is quite challenging for us without the fuel. We may have to shut down all factories if this continues “
“We typically have 20 lorries running for us. We currently have eight lorries running. Additionally, factories that operated three or four days a week have stopped operating as a result of the power outages.”
The number of days Mr. Mohideen’s plant was open had been substantially reduced until its size allowed it to obtain fuel from a private importer.
Even many factories that are smaller are having difficulties. But amid this crisis, the most misery is being experienced by the poorest.
Tea pluckers are typically paid slightly over the minimum wage for their work in the fields, selecting the tender tea leaves and depositing them in big sacks wrapped about their waistlines.
But the cost of food has been rising in Sri Lanka. When compared to the same month last year, there was a more than 50% added expense in June.
Tea pluckers from Mr. Mohideen’s plantation grumbled about how hard daily life had become as they carried the bags of leaves to be measured near the colonial-era “line houses” where they reside.
The prices have more than doubled since we could once get by, according to Nageshwri. “We spend all of our daily earnings on food.”
Panchawarni continues, “We don’t eat a meal any longer. Instead, we eat twice a day: once at about 10:00 and once in the evening.
The Sri Lankan government is working to find extra gasoline and is in discussions with the International Monetary Fund, but for the time being, no matter who governs the nation, hardship appears destined to persist.
