COLOMBO, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday expressed confidence in resuming its tea exports to Russia by mid January after Russia imposed a temporary ban on Sri Lankan tea exports from Dec 18.
Minister of Plantation Industries Navin Dissanayake told a weekly cabinet briefing here that President Maithripala Sirisena had written to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday asking him to lift the ban, and the island country was hopeful to resume its exports within the coming few weeks.
Dissanayake said that a delegation would also leave for Russia to hold talks once a date is confirmed from the Russian side.
"We have requested for a date to hold talks with the Russian side. Once the date is given we will send a delegation from Sri Lanka to sort this issue. We are hopeful we can solve this soon as Russia and Sri Lanka share very close ties," he said.
Russian agricultural safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, placed temporary restrictions on imports of all agricultural products from Sri Lanka, including tea, from Dec. 18, after it found an insect, known as the Khapra beetle, in the packaging of one consignment of tea from Sri Lanka.
Russia is the second largest tea market for Sri Lanka following Iran. Russia imported 143 million U.S. dollars worth of Ceylon Tea in 2016, which was 11.3 percent of Sri Lanka's tea exports.
Dissanayake said that a thorough probe was underway regarding the discovery of the beetle but explained that the larva of the beetle was found in the outer packaging and not inside the tea.
He further expressed doubts on whether this larva may have originated from Sri Lanka as the consignment had gone through other ports before finally making its way to Russia.
Dissanayake further said that all steps were being taken to ensure the quality and hygiene of tea exported to other countries and if Russia proposed further recommendations to secure safety of the tea, then Sri Lanka would implement those recommendations.
