Sri Lanka’s RPCs set sights on 10% coffee cultivation expansion

• Await extension on land lease to move ahead with investments 

By Nishel Fernando 
In a major boost to Sri Lanka’s coffee industry, Sri Lanka’s Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) said they are aiming to expand the current coffee cultivation to 10 percent of the total land extent. This will be rolled out over time, as part of its diversification strategy.  
“Currently, we have about 100 hectares of coffee cultivation; we plan to expand this to 10 percent of our total land extent,” Planters’ Association of Ceylon Past Chairman and Spokesperson Roshan Rajadurai told Mirror Business. 
As of 2016, the RPC land extent amounted to 180,291 hectares, in which tea was dominant, followed by rubber and oil palm. 
Sri Lanka was the third largest exporter of coffee in 1850s, before a rust disease (Hemileia vastatrix) wiped out the coffee plantation.
“That’s the level that we need to be in and we can go back to,” Lanka Coffee Association Chairman Kushan Samararathne said during a press conference held in Colombo last week. 
In 2022, for the first time, Sri Lankan coffee was featured in an international expo, gaining the much-needed traction for the first time since 1850s.
“We took Sri Lankan coffee to an international expo, Melbourne International Coffee Expo and Sri Lankan coffee really received good feedback on tasting profile and quality, alongside other areas. 
That is an encouraging proposition for MDMA and also for the Sri Lankan coffee industry, as markets are looking at new coffee destinations,” shared Australia-funded Market Development Facility Country Director Maryam Piracha.

Samararathne asserted that the quantity, consistency and volumes are critical to meet this potential.  
The RPCs such as Kelani Valley and Namunukula have already venture into coffee cultivation, driven by the growing demand and higher prices. Namunukula embarked on a strategic initiative to diversify its crop portfolio through a coffee planting project. 
However, Rajadurai noted that these investment plans cannot be implemented until the government extends the current land lease on the RPC land, with only 21 years remaining under the current lease granted in 1990s.