Plantation industry in Sri Lanka

The Plantation industry in Sri Lanka, primarily based on tea, rubber, and coconut, has been a cornerstone of the island’s economy and society since the colonial era. Introduced during British rule in the 19th century, the industry remains a significant contributor to export earnings and rural employment. At the same time, it has been linked to socio-economic inequality, ethnic marginalization, and environmental degradation.

The plantation economy in Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, took root following British colonial conquest of the Kandyan Kingdom in 1815. The British initially developed large-scale coffee plantations by clearing vast highland forests. The Crown Lands Ordinance of 1840 and the Waste Lands Ordinance of 1840 facilitated land expropriation from local peasants by declaring uncultivated lands as state property.^[1][2]

After coffee production collapsed due to a fungal disease in the 1870s, British planters shifted to tea. By the early 20th century, Ceylon tea had become a leading export commodity, followed by rubber and coconut.^[3]

The Land Reform Laws of the early 1970s, notably the Land Reform Law of 1972 and its amendment in 1975, had a profound effect on Sri Lanka’s plantation sector. These laws aimed to redistribute land to address historical inequalities rooted in colonial-era land policies. They imposed ceilings on private land ownership and nationalized large estates, transferring ownership primarily to state agencies such as the Janatha Estates Development Board (JEDB) and the State Plantations Corporation (SPC).^[4]

The nationalization disrupted the ownership and management structures of plantations. Many estates transitioned from private British and local ownership to government control. However, the state-run corporations struggled with inefficiency, underinvestment, and bureaucratic management, leading to declining productivity in tea, rubber, and coconut sectors throughout the 1970s and 1980s. This decline affected export earnings and employment levels in the plantation industry.^[5][4]

While the land reforms aimed to alleviate landlessness among rural peasants, their benefits in the plantation regions were limited. The nationalization did not significantly alter the social status of the large Tamil estate labor force, who remained disenfranchised and marginalized. Land redistribution largely bypassed these communities, and living and working conditions on estates remained poor. Furthermore, many displaced estate owners and managers lost livelihoods, creating economic disruptions.^[1]

The inefficiencies and productivity declines under state management eventually prompted a shift in the 1990s towards privatization and the creation of Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) to manage estates under lease agreements, blending public ownership with private management. Nonetheless, the legacy of land reform contributed to structural challenges in the plantation economy, including labor issues, lack of capital investment, and political tensions over land rights.^[6]

The plantation sector has traditionally been dominated by tea, rubber, and coconut. However, diversification efforts have introduced other crops including cinnamon, oil palm, cocoa, cardamom, pepper, and other spices.

Tea is the most prominent plantation crop, grown primarily in the central highlands. There are three agro-climatic categories: high-grown (e.g., Nuwara Eliya), mid-grown, and low-grown (e.g., Galle). Sri Lanka remains one of the top five tea exporters globally.^[7]

Rubber is cultivated in the wet zones, especially in Sabaragamuwa and Western Provinces. It is processed into RSS (Ribbed Smoked Sheets) and latex products.

Coconut is mainly grown in the "coconut triangle" of Kurunegala, Gampaha, and Puttalam. Products include oil, copra, and value-added items such as desiccated coconut and coir.

Sri Lanka is the world’s leading producer of true cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), primarily grown in the Southern Province.^[8]

Introduced in recent decades, oil palm has faced environmental opposition. Several provinces, including Uva and Central, have banned new cultivation.^[9]

Spices like pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, mace, cloves, and cocoa are grown in agroforestry systems and intermediate zones. High-value crops such as vanilla, citronella, and lemongrass are also being promoted.^[10]

The plantation industry is based in the Wet Zone of Sri Lanka. Tea is primarily grown in the central highlands and southern lowlands, with high-grown tea cultivated above 1,200 meters in Nuwara Eliya and Horton Plains (Up Country Wet Zone), mid-grown tea in Kandy and Matale (Mid Country Wet Zone), and low-grown tea in Ratnapura, Galle, and Matara (Low Country Wet Zone) ^[11][12]. Rubber is cultivated mainly in the southwestern lowlands including Kegalle, Kalutara, Ratnapura, and parts of Gampaha and Colombo, thriving in the Low Country Wet Zone due to its high humidity and consistent rainfall ^[13][14]. Coconut cultivation dominates the Intermediate and Dry Zones, particularly in the “Coconut Triangle” comprising Kurunegala, Puttalam, and Gampaha, and extends to areas such as Chilaw and Hambantota ^[15][16]. Other crops include cinnamon, primarily grown along the southern coast in Galle and Matara; oil palm, recently introduced to Kalutara and Galle ^[17]; and spices such as pepper and cardamom intercropped in tea estates of Kandy, Matale, and Nuwara Eliya ^[18]. These crops are distributed across agro-ecological zones defined by rainfall, elevation, and soil type—namely the Up Country Wet Zone (high elevation tea and spices), Mid Country Wet Zone (mid-grown tea), Low Country Wet Zone (rubber, low-grown tea, cinnamon), Intermediate Zone (coconut and mixed crops), and Dry Zone (coconut and recent agricultural expansion) ^[19][20].

By the mid-20th century, the plantation sector accounted for over 80% of Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange earnings. Tea alone became globally associated with Sri Lanka’s economic identity. The country continues to be among the world’s top tea exporters, renowned for producing high-quality varieties under the Ceylon Tea brand.^[7][21] Plantation agriculture also remains a critical source of employment, particularly in the Central, Uva, and Sabaragamuwa Provinces, with nearly 700,000 people dependent on the industry for their livelihoods.

During British era, the plantation sector—centered on tea, rubber, and coconut—exerted significant political influence in Ceylon. British planters were granted representation in the colonial Legislative Council and later in the State Council, where they advocated for policies favourable to the plantation economy.^[22] The European community, consisting largely of British planters and commercial elites, held reserved seats in the legislature even after independence in 1948 as appointed members. The Ceylon Planters’ Association, established in 1854, played a key lobbying role in influencing land tenure laws, labour regulations, and infrastructure development to support plantation exports.^[23]

The Second Manning Reforms of 1923 institutionalised this influence by introducing sectoral representation within the expanded Legislative Council. Among the 49 total members, several seats were allocated specifically to represent key economic and commercial interests. These included:

• One seat for European Planters – representing the interests of the British-owned plantation sector, primarily through the Ceylon Planters’ Association.
• One seat for the Chamber of Commerce – dominated by European mercantile elites in Colombo.
• One seat for the Low-Country Products Association – representing native Ceylonese merchants involved in agriculture and export.
• One seat for the Ceylonese Chamber of Industries – focusing on manufacturing and industrial concerns.^[24]

These sectoral seats ensured that plantation and commercial elites both European and Ceylonese had formal access to legislative processes, reinforcing their dominance in the colonial economy. Additionally, the communal seat allocated to Indian Tamils gave nominal representation to the plantation labour force, though voting rights were heavily restricted and subject to literacy, income, and residency qualifications that excluded most estate workers.^[25]

After independence in 1948, although most European planters began divesting from the sector, their institutional legacy persisted. Plantation interests continued to wield influence through parliamentarians from hill-country electorates such as Maskeliya, Talawakelle, and Nuwara Eliya, often representing estate-linked elites. The passage of the Ceylon Citizenship Act and the Indian and Pakistani Residents (Citizenship) Act, which rendered a majority of Indian Tamil plantation workers stateless, was supported by both Sinhalese nationalist parties and plantation-linked elites to ensure the continued political marginalisation of the estate workforce.^[26] Although the sector retained influence into the 1950s and early 1960s, particularly in trade policy and taxation, it declined significantly after the Land Reform Acts of 1972 and 1975, which nationalised large plantations and placed them under the control of state entities such as the Janatha Estates Development Board (JEDB) and the State Plantation Corporation (SPC).^[27]

Since the 1970s, the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC), founded in 1939 and led by prominent leaders such as S. Thondaman, has emerged as the primary political organisation representing the Indian Tamil plantation workforce. The CWC has consistently played a crucial role in negotiating labour rights, citizenship, and political representation for estate workers.^[28] Through strategic alliances and coalition politics, the CWC has maintained influence over successive Sri Lankan governments, often serving as a kingmaker in parliamentary coalitions. The party has secured parliamentary seats primarily from hill-country constituencies such as Nuwara Eliya, Maskeliya, and Bandarawela, ensuring political leverage disproportionate to the estate workers’ demographic size.^[29]

The CWC has been instrumental in improving labour conditions on plantations, advocating for better wages, education, and health services for Indian Tamil workers. However, it has also been critiqued for its patronage-based politics and for sometimes aligning with mainstream Sinhalese-dominated parties to secure electoral benefits rather than broader social reforms.^[30]

The plantation system led to displacement, demographic change, and long-term social marginalization. To meet labor demands, the British brought in large numbers of Tamil workers from southern India under indentured contracts. These Indian Tamil workers lived in harsh conditions in estate line rooms and were segregated from the island’s Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil populations. Their political and civil rights were severely restricted.^[31][4]

After independence in 1948, many Indian Tamils were rendered stateless by the Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948 and the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955, sparking decades of marginalization.^[32]

The Waste Lands Ordinance dispossessed Kandyan Sinhalese peasants, pushing many into landlessness and poverty.^[1]

Indian Tamil laborers were brought in under British rule. Their presence significantly altered the demographic landscape of the Central Highlands and created an isolated, disenfranchised community.^[31]

• Statelessness after 1948^[32]
• Polarized rural labor markets
• Entrenched poverty
• Limited access to political representation

Estate communities suffered poor health outcomes due to overcrowded housing, malnutrition, poor water quality, and lack of healthcare. Estate dispensaries provided minimal care.^[33][34][35]

Plantation expansion led to the development of colonial railways (e.g., Colombo–Kandy line, 1867) and feeder roads. These served export needs but often excluded estate residents from wider mobility.^[36]

• Estate schools were under-resourced, leading to low literacy and dropouts.^[37]
• Many estates lacked piped water, sanitation, or electricity well into the 2000s.^[38]