EU pledges...

The European Union wants to help deliver tangible and sustainable improvement in these people’s lives by improving development in these regions in a way that is economically and environmentally sustainable,” the Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Tung-lai Margue, said.

In Sri Lanka, EU development cooperation for

“We will be able to achieve 305-310 million kilos by the end of this year.”

Anil Cooke, head of Asia Siyaka Commodities said the low base also helped.

Lower use of fertilisers, weak market prices and a government ban on the use of pesticides resulted in a decline in production last year.

Sri Lanka’s tea output hit a seven-year low in 2016, falling 11.1 percent in its third straight year of declining production due to adverse weather.

Tea export volume dropped to a 14-year low in 2016, broker data showed. Export earnings fell 5.3 percent to US$1.26 billion in 2016 from

She stressed it is imperative for Sri Lanka to find different ways to mobilize resources to ensure a sustainable development agenda.

A SBI-WTS media release said the deal will also entail SBI Holdings providing investment products, primarily Sri Lankan bonds to the Japanese market through its subsidiary, SBI Securities Co. Ltd., headed by Representative Director and President Masato Takamura.

WTS ranks among the top five primary dealers in Sri Lanka with an eminent board of