Special request from the daughter of Gen. Sarath Fonseka

Dear friends,

As you all very well know my father was given another 3 years of imprisonment simply because the court felt he assisted in spreading a rumor that brought tension among ethnicities. Although it is my dearest wish to comment on this "verdict" and the so called "justice system" in Sri Lanka, I will keep them to myself for the sake of my family, who has felt the wrath of the Sri Lankan "law" more than any regular family that lives in the country.

However, I want to use this judgment as an example to show people how much we are in need of international interference when it comes to seeking  justice for my father. After months and months of activism it is quite obvious that my family might never receive any fairness without international support. With that in mind, I have started a petition in the White House website.

This is how it works...

If I can get 25,000 signature within a period of one month, the White House will consider my appeal. Hopefully, This will open a whole new process that will allow me to make them aware of the reasons that surround my father's imprisonment  and convince them to get involved.

Therefore, I kindly appeal you to please show my family your support by simply taking 30 seconds of your time to sign up for this petition. It will go a long way in helping my father and my family who desperately want a break from all the injustice that is happening to us on a daily basis.

We remain strong purely due to the support we have received from our supporters. Therefore, we appeal to you once more to be with us and support us in our hour of need by signing this petition and showing us you are still vouching for us. Political views aside, you all know that my father does not deserve this. The only thing he did wrong was standing up for what he believed in. It’s a human right. No one should be able to take that away from an individual.

I hope my humble appeal as a daughter who desperately wants to see justice for her father will inspire you to sign this petition and show us your continuous support.

The steps are as follows:

1.     Please go to the Link :

http://wh.gov/jmh

2. Click on "Create an account" button. Then enter your details. (For people living in Sri Lanka, it is not essential to enter the ZIP Code and Address)

3. Then check your mail (the white house will send you an e-mail) and click the activation Link.

4. Click on the "Sign this Petition" button.

5. And then click on the "Facebook" button to share the link.
Please be kind enough to pass the message around. We need at least 1000 signatures per day to reach our goal.

Thanking you once again for your unstinting support and faith

Apsara Fonseka

Ceylon tea gains value in export market

Ceylon tea consider as the best tea in the world. In previous years competitors from India gains the reputation for tea in the international markets. Weather is one of the critical factor for good tea producing. Sri Lanka has the ideal weather for tea making. But in the past years, weather and production of tea decreases in Sri Lanka. Therefore the demand for Ceylon tea has been reduced in the international markets.

But in this year, with the government support and involvement, Sri Lanka is able to gain their lost reputation again. Now Ceylon tea has the most expensive bid in international tea auctions.

Ceylon tea has a long reputation as the best tea in the world. The best quality tea grown in the hill country in Sri Lanka.

Invest more on tea branding and value addition

The tea market in Sri Lanka stabilized with tea prices increasing in December and this would improve further in January onwards, said the President of the National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) and Chairman, HVA Lanka Exports (Pvt) Ltd, Rohan Fernando. At the last tea auction on December 16 and 17, 2008, the average prices for high grown and low grown tea were Rs.208.88, 188.64 and 224.76. However, market sources said that the market trend cannot be predicted, based on these prices because the next auction will be held on January 6 and these is a long period in between. Therefore, there was a high demand at the last auction.

To face the challenge in the international markets due to the global economic crisis, the government should support the tea exporters to build Sri Lankan tea brands and export more value added products, he said. Unfortunately, the authorities attempt to invest in the other end of the industry by supporting the growers and factory owners, he said.

Fenando said that the government should not take decisions by looking at street protests or the voters in this time of crisis. If Sri Lankan tea can capture and maintain the cast international market the whole industry including the factory owners, growers, smallholders, and the workers will be sage and the industry would be sustained. Therefore, pumping money to the wrong end would not help the industry. Fernando said that the government should invest the cess fund which is over Rs.1 billion an year for marketing, making brand images and value addition of Ceylon Tea. The industry has a legitimate right to demand these funds, he said.

He said that the industry including factory owners and growers should be able to hold on during this difficult situation. The prices were low only two months and if the industry cannot hold on during such a short period, the tea industry in the country is not sustainable. All the stakeholders in the industry capitalized from the long boom in the industry and high price, Fernando said. According to Fernando, the value of Sri Lankan tea exports was US $1.1 billion in 2007 and the industry targeted Rs.1.3 billion in tea exports last year.

If Sri Lanka exported value added tea this value would be nearly US $5 billion and therefore value addition is vital for the industry. Fernando denied reports which said that Vietnam is capturing our main markets. However, Vietnam is looming as a strong competitor and it is the second largest orthodox tea exporter in the world.

Sri Lanka has not yet seriously felt the impact of the global economic crisis. However, the next two three months would be more difficult as a result of the contraction in the global commerce, he said.

Tea crisis easing off

Demand for tea has risen after auctions resuming for the New Year. The crisis in the tea industry is easing off with a significant increase in the prices of low and high grown teas.

The national auction average was Rs.301 per kg last week which is short of Rs.23 to reach the corresponding average price of last year. Chairman, the tea brokers association, Sarath Sirisena said tea prices are stabilizing since commencing of auctions this year. The national average price last week for the low grown rose to Rs.319 per kg from Rs.310 in the previous week.

Demand for tea from key markets dropped drastically following the global financial crisis which is having an adverse impact on many countries. Russia, which is the largest importer of Ceylon Tea, reduced the quantum of imports.

Following reduced inventories and the rise in demand for tea Russia has increased buying tea. The Middle East is the second largest importer of Ceylon Tea. The tea brokers played a vital role during the height of the crises in the tea industry last year by providing financial assistant to producers to sustain the manufacture of tea, he said.

The brokers invested four billion rupees in October last year to support the industry during the crisis. Around 55 to 60 percent of the national production of tea is funded by brokers which underlines the dependence on the brokers.

Sirisena said the association welcomes the timely intervention of the government to support the tea industry at a time of crisis with a relief package.

Ceylon black tea

The most famous brand of tea from Sri Lanka is known as Ceylon Black Tea. Generally all local market is consisting of black tea. Why its called black tea is the color. Original black tea is more black in color with brown shades, but it is not completely black.

Most of the time black tea is prepared with milk or with a ginger blend. This is the oldest form of tea tasting. Now there are many varieties of black tea with many flavours, but most of the time it is tasted originally pure black tea.

Ceylon Tea Market

Tea plantation industry is one of the main and oldest export market item and it makes a huge effect on the economic and culture of Sri Lanka. A sub culture is formed around the tea plantations because of the workers came from South India. Now they become a Sri Lankan peoples and playing an important role in tea industry. Main profit from tea is coming from export market. Ceylon tea export all over the world and Europe is one of the main regions that have a huge demand for Ceylon Tea. USA is not a big market for tea generally because peoples in this region are used to drink coffee rather than tea.

Tea is not a traditional plantation in Sri Lanka. The tea culture is introduced by English peoples who ruled Sri Lanka for several decades. They knew the central hill country in Sri Lanka has the superior climate for tea plantation and soon Ceylon Tea became the top brand name all over the world. From central to south and south-east parts of the country is growing tea plants. The quality and the taste of these different parts are also different. Generally the highest quality tea produced in the hill country in Sri Lanka.

Tea in local market is often not quality as the exported teas. Because of the price, the local mass market has the demand only for low quality teas and most people are used to drink tea with milk. There are some grade of high quality tea packs are available in the local super markets. But superior quality teas are available only in luxury shopping malls and special tea centers only at local.

There are few main brand names for quality tea. Among then Dilmah, Lipton, Watawala are very famous.

Tea Brands

Sri Lanka was the best tea producer in the world till very recent, and eventually India become another giant in the quality tea producing. Ceylon tea is famous in the world as the best tea for more than a centuary. But coffee is more famous than tea. Drinking tea is very famous among Europe but in USA that replaces by coffee.

There are many local tea brands in Sri Lanka. One I most like is comes under the name of Lipton. Ceylon Lipton tea was one of the oldest tea manufacturer and exporter in Sri Lanka. This tea brand is very populay among the local tea drinkers. The main reason is this is very old and cheap than the other brands and also the quality is much same or higher than the other tea brands.

Not lipton tea is not much doign advertising on the mas media, because this brand is already created the milestone in the general public. There are more than 10 local tea brands widly availble in the local market. These local market tea is not that much quality like the original ceylon tea that is made for exports to other countries. But it is good enough for local peoples withe the price that is available.