Plantation Ministry Secretary Upali Marasinghe shaking hands with Phoenix Ogilvy Chairman Irvin Weerackody at the agreement signing in the presence of Minister Navin Dissanayake


An agreement was signed by the Plantation Industries Ministry and Phoenix Ogilvy to launch a global communications campaign to promote Ceylon tea as the most exotic tea in the world and thereby command a better premium price. 

The agreement was signed on behalf of the ministry by Secretary Upali Marasinghe and on behalf of Phoenix Ogilvy, by its Chairman Irvin Weerackody, at the Sri Lanka Tea Board recently in the presence of Plantations Minister Navin Dissanayake. Tea Board Chairman Rohan Pethiyagoda was also present at the occasion.   

The global campaign was proposed to focus within seven identified regions, namely Russia/CIS, Middle-East/Gulf, African, Far East Oceania, European, American and South Asian regions.

In the first phase, the global campaign will focus on 12 markets during 2015/2016 and the rest will be considered during the second phase. The USA, UAE, UK, Japan, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Germany, China, Australia and India will come under the first phase.  Tea, once the number one foreign exchange earner, is now lagging behind remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad and the apparel industry. The industry has been beleaguered by high costs of production, low productivity and incoherent and inconsistent policies. While the new administration will address these issues, the launch of a campaign of this nature is considered most desirable by the tea industry.