Beating COVID-19 pandemic, CICRA Solutions empowers world’s single largest and oldest Tea Auction to go live

Saving wages of 10% of the Sri Lankan population and foreign exchange during the Covid-19 lock-down, CICRA Solutions (Pvt) Ltd in a rapid response provide an online solution to run the Colombo Tea Auction. The 137-year-old Colombo Tea Auction is the largest, complexes and oldest tea auction in the world.

However, it has resisted winds of technological change until Covid-19 struck.  Managed by the Colombo Tea Traders Association that represents almost 500 buyers and eight brokering companies moved into online tea auction platform on 4th April 2020. Since then, the full weekly auction cycle takes place on the CICRA Solutions platform.

Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) has highlighted the trickle down effect spanning the entire supply chain from the introduction of the online tea auction.

“The e-trade has created ‘hope’, especially for the Tea farmers who depend on their daily wages. Regional Plantation Companies and smallholders are able to conduct business and provide work despite the current circumstance. Crops are being harvested without compromise on quality and factories are functional strictly following the stringent precautionary measures stipulated by the health authorities,” SLTB said.

New Auction

Outcry Auction

“This has let the exporters to commence shipments with available resources and work flat-out to meet the increasing demand for Ceylon Tea,” SLTB said. 

CICRA Solutions is a specialized software development and servicing company that undertakes software development needs to suit the client specific needs. The company has provided software solutions to Sri Lanka Tea Board and tea brokering companies since 2002. 

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