Tea exports in hot water due to trade embargoes on Iran

16 February 2019 10:22 am

With the imposition of various trade embargoes on Iran, obtaining payments for tea exports from Sri Lanka to Iran is causing several difficulties, Sri Lankan Tea Board Chairman Lucille Wijewardena told Daily Mirror.

"The European Union imposed an embargo on November 5 last year the United States had then imposed an economic embargo on Iran making it difficult to obtain dollar settlements. Some 32 million kilograms of tea are exported to Iran annually. This volume has now fallen by about 10 million kilograms," he said.

Mr. Wijewardena said Iran was the fourth larges purchaser of Sri Lankan tea.

He said earlier Sri Lanka bought crude oil in exchange for the tea, but with the EU and US-imposed embargo our exporters are finding it extremely difficult for tea exporters to obtain payment.  (Indika Sri Aravinda)