Ever since the 1880s, Ceylon Tea became the country’s principal and most famous export, forming the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy for many generations. As the industry grew in leaps and bounds, the need to regulate the functions of growing, processing and manufacturing of Tea also arose.
Then, in 1976 the Sri Lanka Tea Board was set-up as the apex regulatory and administrative body of the Sri Lankan Tea industry comprising representatives from both private and government bodies involved in the industry, including cultivators and manufacturers, traders, exporters and plantation employees.