Minister advises Tea Board against holding celebrations to mark International Tea Day

by Ifham Nizam

Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has asked the Sri Lanka Tea Board to cancel the International Tea Day event on Wednesday (22) due to the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi.

The event was scheduled to be held at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo.

Most of the tea produced in Sri Lanka is bought by Iran.

When Sri Lanka was unable to repay the loans received from Iran due to the economic crisis, the Iranian government agreed to accept tea as payment and wrote off part of the outstanding, the Minister added.