By Pamodi WaravitaSri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Jayampathy Molligoda announced yesterday (10) that the tea industry has been permitted to import “nitrogen-based chemical fertiliser” for the transitional period from chemical fertiliser to organic fertiliser, following the Government’s decision in late April this year to completely ban the use of chemical fertiliser within the country. “The tea industry has been given permission to import nitrogen-based chemical fertiliser during this transitional period along with mineral fertiliser. It is not going back to the excessive use of chemical fertiliser era at all. Accordingly, nitrogen (N) fertiliser, phosphate (PO₄³⁻) fertiliser, potassium (K) fertiliser, fertilisers containing such minerals and chemical fertilisers containing a combination of fertilising elements, that were previously banned from import, have been brought under the import control licence (ICL) by the aforesaid gazette notification. However, in the aforementioned Facebook post, Molligoda said that “contrary to popular belief the tea production and auction sale figures have not shown any indication that the chemical fertiliser ban has adversely affected tea quality or production”.

Source: The Nation October 10, 2021 17:48 UTC