AMN/ WEB DESK
Sri Lanka has banned the import of organic fertilisers manufactured in China after state agriculture authorities detected harmful bacteria in them for the second time. Director-General of Agriculture Ajantha De Silva urged the government to cancel the fertiliser contract with China and insisted that he would never allow organic fertiliser with harmful bacteria to enter the country. Sri Lanka was to import 99,000 metric tonnes of organic fertiliser at a cost of 63 million dollars from China’s Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co Ltd.
On September 17, agriculture scientists in Sri Lanka found that China manufactured organic fertilisers that contained a microorganism identified as ‘Erwinia’. Agriculture experts warned that China’s organic fertiliser importation would create an agricultural disaster in the island nation. The Agriculture Ministry too confirmed this later but the Minister alleged that the samples which came to Sri Lanka could have tampered. Subsequently, fresh samples of China’s organic fertiliers were brought to Sri Lanka and the Director-General of Agriculture told the media that the new samples too were infected with bacteria. De Silva said though the presence of Erwinia could not be confirmed, the presence of harmful bacteria in this new sample was confirmed. Subsequently, the Agriculture Ministry stated that it would halt the importation of Chinese organic fertilisers.