Energy Security for Tea Industry in Sri Lanka
ENERGY SECURITY FOR TEA INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA
A REVIEW OF PRESENT STATUS & OPPORTUNITIES FOR SELF SUFFICIENCY
M.A.Wijeratne1, ParakramaJayasinghe2, Sarath Samaraweera2, W.S.Botheju3 & D.Seevaratnam2
1Senior Research Officer, Agronomy Division, Tea Research Institute.
2 Member, Consultative Committee on Research, Tea Research Board.
3 Head, Technology Division, Tea Research Institute.
ABSTRACT
Continued stability and growth of the tea industry is paramount to the Sri Lankan economy. However, the tea industry is faced with many challenges of which the cost of energy and security of supplies is becoming a grave concern for all tea producers. Two main forms of energy used in tea factories are electrical and thermal. While electricity needs have been subsidized by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) over many years, this situation may change due to financial constraints faced by the CEB and thus the rising cost of electricity may become a major problem for the tea industry.
Decades ago thermal energy needs were met by imported liquid fuels. With relative Dollar price of oil increasing in comparison to FOB price of tea, where for example, quantity of tea to buy a barrel of oil has increased from 10 kg to 19 kg over the last decade, use of fuel oils in meeting thermal energy needs in tea processing is now completely replaced by Firewood. Though cheaper, there is very little sustainable management of firewood in tea industry where most factories rely on purchases from whatever available source. This mostly involves ad hoc felling of trees in jungles and other homesteads. This situation cannot continue in the future.
The tea industry however holds key advantages of access to lands, labour and expertise in large scale plantations to convert this risk to an opportunity and to become a net energy exporter going beyond just self sufficiency for its own needs. Thus it can regain its position as a major contributor to the export earnings not only by the export of tea alone but by the reduction of the import of fossil fuels. This paper reviews the energy demand and supply situation at present, immediate and long term problems of reliability and sustainability of supplies and environmental issues, strategies to enhance the energy security of the tea industry and recommendations to implement these much needed strategies.
Energy Security for Tea Industry in Sri Lanka