作者：Dananjaya Silva
翻译：于英杰
据报道称，印度于7月17日向斯里兰卡信贷交付了44,000吨尿素，这是新德里持续支持斯里兰卡农民并帮助加强双边粮食安全合作的一部分。

Editors Note: The Hindu reports that India, on July 17, delivered 44,000 metric tons of urea under a credit line extended to Sri Lanka, as part of New Delhi’s ongoing efforts to support the island nation’s farmers and help bolster bilateral cooperation for food security, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said.


Dananjaya Silva：这场危机影响的不仅是农村茶叶行业。据报告称，在科伦坡大家难以获得融资、燃料和可靠的电力。您能和我们说一下茶叶委员会是如何解决这些问题的吗？

Dananjaya – The crisis not only impacts the rural tea sector. Service providers report difficulties obtaining financing, fuel, and reliable electrical power in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s hub for blending, packaging, and shipping. Will you describe how the tea board is addressing these concerns?


Niraj de Mel：我认为需要对此进行一些澄清。个体商户基本上在处理这些问题，但我们正在尽可能地提供帮助。我试图向政府官员们灌输一个理念，我们必须快速反应提出对策。

Niraj – I think there needs to be some clarification on this. The private sector basically handles it, but we are trying as far as possible to assist. I have tried to instill into the minds of the officials that we have to be an enabling outfit.


回到你的第二个问题，有一个项目被遗漏了：燃料。实际上，现在这个因素已经优先于肥料，因为茶叶采摘以及加工（需要燃料）对于茶厂经营至关重要。在茶叶出口环节中，特别是在茶叶袋装过程，机器必须连续运行，都需要不间断电源。过去4-5个月，斯里兰卡普遍停电，这对人民来说是一种负担，现在燃料稀缺，尤其是柴油稀缺更加严重。因此，我们正在尽最大努力与所有相关人员联系，并确定燃料可用量，以确保茶叶生产商获得燃料配额。

Going back to your question No. 2, there’s one item that was missed: the fuel factor. Actually, that has taken precedence over fertilizer now because the collection of leaves as well as bringing the manufactured tea out is essential to run your factories. Exporter functions, particularly the tea bagging sector, where the machines have to be run continuously, all require an uninterrupted power supply. Power cuts that have been prevailing in this country for the last 4-5 months are an encumbrance to the people, as a result of that, now compounded by the fact that there’s fuel scarcity, particularly diesel. So given the availability of fuel we are trying our best to contact all concerned with the right message to ensure that the producers get their fuel quota.


大家不能像以前那样买到燃料，因为斯里兰卡本身是进口燃料的。个体石油进口商已经为此努力，这对他们来说是非常宽宏大量的。为了推动这个过程，政府同意如果此举能生产外汇，大家当然可以得到燃料。因此，大家联合起来，竭尽所能。

They cannot have it the way they used to have, because the country itself is, you know, is importing fuel ship by ship. The private sector importers, in particular, have stepped in, which is very magnanimous on their part. To fast-track this process, the government has said, well, if you can produce the foreign exchange, you can certainly get the fuel across. So, the private sector exporters banded together to give off whatever they could.


Dananjaya Silva：今年以来新问题不断涌现，从停电到限油，茶叶行业凝聚了一批久经沙场的专业人士，他们能够迅速做出反应，做好准备，确保行业继续运转。

Dananjaya – As new problems have arisen over the course of this year, from power cuts to rationing fuel, the tea industry has drawn on a battle-hardened core of tea professionals who are able to react quickly and make provisions to see that the industry continues to operate.


Niraj de Mel：没错，155年来，茶业一直是斯里兰卡最具韧性的行业之一。茶行业不会有其它干扰，我们也正在处理，尽管它具有挑战性。大家非常团结，特别是现在，他们必须共同面对当前的这些问题。我们从2020年新冠疫情起就这样做了。大家基本都会在两个半星期内聚集在一起，在电商平台上进行拍卖，这做法很棒，而且一直延续至今。科伦坡交易员非常有信心，大家不会回到原有旧的喊价系统。我是以经纪人的身份开始茶叶事业，很喜欢喊价系统，但事实是我们必须与时俱进。该平台使我们能够加速进程，让买家、生产商和经纪人能够节省时间。
Niraj – That’s right. That’s right, reaffirming that Sri Lanka tea has for 155 years been one of the most resilient industries in this country. There will be little disruptions here and there, but the fact of the matter is we are managing, though it’s challenging. There is great unity among the stakeholders, particularly now with these current issues which they had to face together. We started at the beginning of the pandemic back in 2020. Everybody came together in two and a half weeks to quickly convert to an electronic platform to conduct the auctions, which was great. That carries on to this day. The Colombo traders are very, very confident that there will not be a return to the old outcry system. I started life as a broker and enjoyed the outcry system, but the fact-of-the-matter is we have to move with the times. The platform has enabled us to quicken the process, giving buyers, producers, and brokers time to spend on other things.
文章选自Tea Biz
本文章刊于9月《茶世界》487期