Ceylon tea is both the brand of tea which is produced in Sri Lanka and a historic term describing tea from that land. Ceylon tea has been described as not only a geographical descriptor but also a pillar of Sri Lankan culture, heritage and identity. The Sri Lanka Tea Board is the legal proprietor of the Lion Logo of Ceylon tea. In 2019, Sri Lanka was the fourth largest tea producer and the third largest tea exporter in the world. The Lion Logo has been registered in 98 countries as of 2016. Ceylon tea increasingly faces rising production costs, mainly due to increasing wages, fuel prices, and utility costs.
The primary form of agriculture in Sri Lanka is rice production. Rice is cultivated during Maha and Yala seasons. Tea is cultivated in the central highlands and is a major source of foreign exchange. Vegetables, fruits and oilseed crops are also cultivated in the country. There are two Agriculture Parks abbreviated as A. Parks established by the Department of Agriculture. Out of the total population in Sri Lanka, 27.1% engages in agricultural activities. Agriculture accounted for 7.4% of the GDP in 2020.
Don Harold Stassen Jayawardena, known as Harry Jayawardena, is a Sri Lankan industrialist. He is chairman of Melstacorp PLC and is the Honorary Consul General for Denmark in Sri Lanka. Forbes listed him as one of the richest people in Sri Lanka.
Maliban Biscuit Manufactories, is one of the largest manufacturers, distributors and marketers of bakery products in Sri Lanka. Maliban is a privately owned limited liability company.
Alghazaleen Tea is a brand of Ceylon tea, grown and packed in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). It is popular in Jordan, Palestine, UAE, and Afghanistan and is manufactured by Akbar Brothers Ltd. Alghazaleen is imported to Jordan by the Amman-based Palestinian Trading Company. The tea is grown in the mountains of central Ceylon, and the Earl Grey variety is made using oil from the Bergamot fruit. Akbar and Alghazaleen brands won the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing's award of the brand of the year in 2003 and in 2005. In terms of cuppage, sixty million cups of Akbar brothers tea products are consumed daily.
Hayleys PLC is a multinational and diversified conglomerate company in Sri Lanka with business spanning over 16 diverse sectors, catering to 70 markets worldwide. Hayleys PLC was founded in 1878 and has since become one of Sri Lanka's largest conglomerate companies. Hayleys accounts for approximately 4.2% of Sri Lanka's export income, and 3.9% of the country's tea and 4.5% of its rubber production. With over 30,000 employees, Hayley was also the first listed entity in the country to surpass annual revenue of US$1 billion in Fiscal Year 2017/18. The company operates over 16 business sectors: eco-solutions, hand protection, purification, agriculture, consumer and retail, leisure, textile manufacturing, construction materials, plantations, industrial solutions, power and energy, transportation and logistics, BPO, tea exports, projects and engineering, and investments and services. Hayleys comprises over 130 business units and subsidiaries, nine of which are publicly listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. In addition to Sri Lanka, Hayleys today has manufacturing facilities in Indonesia and Thailand and marketing operations in Australia, India, Bangladesh, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, UK and USA and its products are sold in 80 countries.
Expolanka Holdings PLC is a diversified conglomerate with interests in logistics, leisure and ventures with a global presence in 20 countries and over 50 cities.
Tata Consumer Products is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company with its corporate headquarter in Mumbai, and is a part of the Tata Group. Its registered office is located in Kolkata. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer and distributor of tea and a major producer of coffee.
The T K Group of Industries is a Bangladeshi industrial Conglomerate known for its vegetable oil business. It also has interests in steel, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, plastics, cement, and textiles. The conglomerate is headquartered in Chittagong. The group is one of the top VAT payers in the country.
Lion Brewery or Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC is a predominantly Sri Lankan owned and operated brewery. The company is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and its stock is part of the S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index. Lion Brewery produces the highest selling beer, Lion Lager, in both Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Ceylon Biscuits Limited is a Sri Lankan food manufacturer, the maker of Munchee biscuits and one of the oldest biscuit makers in Sri Lanka. The company owns 60% of the domestic market share in Sri Lanka.
Heladiv, publicly traded as HVA Foods PLC, is a tea company based in Sri Lanka.
LAUGFS Holdings Limited is a diversified conglomerate from Sri Lanka and has since expanded overseas. Laugfs Holdings is mainly engaged in Energy, retail, Industrial and manufacturing, Hospitality, Real estate, logistics, pharmaceuticals and several other sectors.
Janaka Ratnayake is a Sri Lankan businessmen. Currently serving as the Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, Trillium Property Management and Services Ltd, City Housing and Real Estate PLC, Trillium Residencies Pvt Ltd, and Rent A Comp Pvt Ltd.. He is the former chairman and chief executive of Export Development Board of Sri Lanka (EDB), Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL), Merchant Credit Sri Lanka (MCSL), MBSL Savings Bank, and MBSL Insurance.
Teejay Lanka PLC formerly known as Textured Jersey Lanka is a knitted fabric manufacturer in Sri Lanka and is one of the constituents of the S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index of the Colombo Stock Exchange. The company received the award of the best textile exporter in Sri Lanka at the Presidential Export Awards in 2019 and ranked amongst the 100 most respected companies in the country by the LMD magazine. The company is a supplier to the brands such as Nike, PVH, L Brands, Marks & Spencer, Decathlon, Lidl, and Calzedonia.
Unilever Sri Lanka is a Sri Lankan consumer goods company located in Colombo. It is wholly owned by Unilever, a British multinational consumer goods company. Its products include food, beauty products, personal care, pharmaceuticals, and baby products. Unilever Sri Lanka was established in 1938 as Lever Brother Ceylon Limited. In 1972, it was renamed Unilever Sri Lanka. The company has been ranked as Most Valuable and Strongest Brand and Most Respected Entity. The company has over two dozen brands that are market leaders in Sri Lanka since the 1940s. Unilever operates from a factory complex in an industrial zone of Horana since 2012. About 96% of the company's products are manufactured locally, and more than twenty of its brands are exported outside Sri Lanka.
Nestlé Lanka is a Sri Lanka-based foods company located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Nestlé Lanka is a subsidiary of Nestlé, a Switzerland based company. Nestlé's products include baby food, medical food, bottled water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea. The company was founded by Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company in 1906 and incorporated under Nestlé Ceylon Company. Nestlé Lanka is Sri Lanka largest foods company by revenue, with Rs 36.355 billion in 2019. The whole company is controlled by the Nestlé Switzerland parent company. Nestlé S.A. owns over 90 per cent total shares. Nestlé Lanka PLC became the seventh most valuable brand in Sri Lanka worth approximately Rs 21 billion in 2017.
Island Tea is a Sri Lankan brand of tea, sold internationally. The company was founded in 2017 by Minodh de Sylva, it has manages and expands its network through separate companies located in Philippines, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Australia and Singapore, which are privately held.
Sunshine Holdings PLC is a Sri Lankan conglomerate holding company that is engaged in the healthcare, consumer goods and agribusiness sectors. Sunshine Holdings was incorporated on 16 June 1973, and listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in 1983. Sunshine Holdings ranked 45th in LMD 100, a list of quoted companies in Sri Lanka by revenue in the 2020/21 edition.
Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC, commonly abbreviated as DIMO, is a Sri Lankan conglomerate company. The company engaged in vehicle sales, after-sales services, retail, construction and logistics solutions and agriculture sectors. The company was founded in 1939 and was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in 1964. DIMO is one of the LMD 100 companies, a list of quoted companies in Sri Lanka by revenue and ranked 39th in the 2020/21 edition.
