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Productivity didn’t decline overnight. It stalled in transition. For decades, Sri Lanka  stood tall among plantation economies. Tea, rubber, coconut—and later oil palm—were once benchmarks of efficiency, quality, and global relevance.Yet today, Sri Lanka’s plantation productivity tells a different story: flat yields, rising costs, shrinking margins , and increasing dependence on protection rather than competitiveness. Meanwhile, peers didn’t stand still. Countries like Malays

For decades, Sri Lanka’s plantation sector survived by relying on tradition, resilience, and sheer hard work. Tea, rubber, coconut, cinnamon, and oil palm continued to generate foreign exchange and rural employment even as productivity stagnated and global competitors moved ahead. Today, that survival model is under serious strain. The sector is facing a convergence of pressures: rising wages, labour shortages, climate volatility, ageing plantations, and a cost structure that

In a serene, mist-covered landscape, digital overlays highlight the precision of modern agricultural technology on lush, rolling hills. What It Was, What It Is, and What We Missed For more than 150 years, plantations have shaped Sri Lanka’s economy, exports, and rural life. Coffee, tea, rubber, coconut, cinnamon, and later oil palm have all played defining roles in the nation’s growth. From railway lines built to transport coffee, to today’s tea auctions that still influence