Chinese Fertilizer Company Demands 8 Million USD From Sri Lanka

In an ongoing disagreement that might strain Colombo's relationship with Beijing, a Chinese business is suing the Sri Lankan government agency for rejecting a consignment of organic fertilizer suspected to contain viruses.

Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co. Ltd. has demanded USD 8 million from Sri Lanka for the loss and damage caused to the company due to the sudden rejection and return of their shipment along with the damage that this might have caused to their company’s reputation.

This letter requesting money for damages was delivered to Sri Lanka via M.j.S Fosenka who is the lawyer representing Qingdao Seawin Biotech Ltd in this case.

This conflict stems from Sri Lanka's ambitious intention to encourage organic farming by prohibiting chemical fertilizer imports. Qingdao Seawin initially won a Sri Lankan government tender to supply organic fertilizer under this new policy, but the agency discovered various bacteria including the erwinia bacteria that can cause crop damage, in a sample from the shipment. Hence the shipment was not permitted to unload in Sri Lanka, leading the state-owned Ceylon Fertilizer Company to intervene.

This had led the Chinese embassy to ask them to retest the sample in a more reputable lab like  Switzerland's SGS Group as they could provide a way more accurate report than the one furnished in Sri Lanka’s  National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS)  on Twitter which was ignored by the Lankan authorities.

The Shipment was hence sent back and all the damages were incurred by the company itself. Which has led it to sue the Lankan Govt for 8 million USD.This has hence led to the souring of the Sino Lankan ties over the past few weeks.

Later on, a think tank called policy research group situated in Colombo stated that Beijing has been putting pressure on Colombo ever since that consignment has been rejected.