18 December 2017 12:29 am
The National Tea Award Ceremony for 2017, organized by Sri Lanka Tea Board was held on December 8 with President Maithripala Sirisena as the Chief Guest at Nelum Pokuna Theatre Complex.
The Minister of Plantation Industries Navin Dissanayake was also present.
The event also marked the 150 years for Sri Lanka Tea industry The New Vithanakanda Tea Factory got the first place from among the large-scale tea factories in Sri Lanka and Ratnapura Region as well.
On this occasion, the Chairman/Managing Director of this factory Navaratne Pilapitiya was offered a special award in appreciation of his service rendered by him during his lifetime on behalf of the tea industry.
The New Vithanakanda Tea Factory, which belongs to the Kalawana Tea Research Division in Ratnapura District produces about 150,000 kgs of quality tea a month by obtaining about 25,000 kgs of green tea leaf supplied daily by about 5000 tea smallholders.