ComBank launches dedicated loan scheme to revitalise Sri Lanka’s tea industry
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has introduced a dedicated loan scheme to revitalise Sri Lanka’s tea industry, demonstrating its strategic initiatives designed to penetrate the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector and the rural micro-economy and catalyse sustainable growth across the national tea industry.
The new loan scheme enables tea smallholders to invest in the renewal of ageing tea fields, improve cultivation practices and strengthen the productivity and sustainability of one of the country’s most important export sectors.
The ‘Revitalizing the Sri Lankan Tea Sector’ Loan Scheme, developed in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association (SLTFOA) and participating tea factories, seeks to address a critical constraint facing the industry: limited access to affordable financing for the long-term investments needed to sustain tea production and improve farmer incomes.
Sri Lanka’s tea industry generated approximately US$ 1.51 billion in export revenue in 2025 and supports more than 400,000 tea smallholder families, contributing to the livelihoods of nearly 1.5 million people across rural communities. Yet, despite the global reputation of Ceylon Tea, the sector faces challenges including declining national production, ageing tea bushes, inadequate replanting, soil degradation and the financial constraints that prevent many farmers from investing in more productive cultivation.
Tea smallholders account for more than 70% of national tea production, making their capacity to maintain and improve their lands central to the future of the industry. By directing financing towards essential cultivation improvements, Commercial Bank said this timely initiative aims to help address these challenges while safeguarding the rural communities whose livelihoods depend on tea.
The scheme’s distinguishing feature is its industry-linked financing model, which brings together the Bank’s financial expertise, the SLTFOA’s industry network and the tea factories maintained by tea smallholders. Moving beyond standard banking services, this collaborative approach is designed to connect eligible farmers with the funding they need to renew their tea lands and improve productivity.
The financing is available for replanting and infilling, soil rehabilitation, land preparation, the purchase of certified planting material and agricultural inputs, nursery establishment, mechanisation, modern agricultural practices and irrigation systems. These investments are intended to help farmers replace ageing bushes, fill vacant spaces in existing fields and make more productive use of their tea-growing land.
