COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Feb. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Dilhan C. Fernando, Chairman of Dilmah Tea explains the danger of 2026 being the toughest year is not only to growers; this sounds dramatic, but the danger is genuinely to humanity.
Discount culture fuels an accelerating emphasis on cheap produce, forcing growers to become unethical, unsustainable or give up. Discounts blind consumers to true value, the welfare of workers, shifting attention to price, manipulated perception of price, opaque value chains, normalisation of cheapness and ultimately a discount fuelled disconnect from ethics. Even at the cost of their own health. It's a race to the bottom for growers but it continues, growing in pace as it delivers profit to those that drive it; at unimaginable cost, because that race threatens to compromise everything we value and need more now than ever, from biodiversity and fertile soils to food safety and security.
Climate change and inequality are amongst the most severe threats to human existence. Solutions to both have been evident for decades, but they come at a cost. They include agricultural innovation, strengthening rural economies, addressing the gender balance, health, welfare, reproductive health, education, nutrition, housing and the host of linked truths that feature in the routine vilification of producers. For growers, there is tragic irony in all this; the world needs good, nutritious and healthy food and beverage, yet we are trapped in a tightening vice of discount driven commodity pricing, making that dream more challenging year on year. More tragic is the knowledge that it's not because the money we need to make agriculture sustainable isn't there, it just goes to the wrong pockets.
As growers, our produce is our passion and a livelihood for millions; we cannot compromise either, yet daily we suffer demand for cheaper teas as an unavoidable part of the journey from harvest to consumers. The result is that poor to mediocre teas proliferate by design, finding favour among buyers motivated by profit in preference to quality. Their sales performance is often strong for a while – powered as they are by packaging worth more than their contents and marketing funded by compromise. In the long term though, it signals the disintegration of the tea category.
The dysfunction is systemic and consumers are unwitting participants. The dangerous reality is harming our precious produce and worse, stimulating some of the greatest risks to humanity – climate extremes, worsening inequality, compromised food security, water and air quality.
And what of tea producers who don't have that ability at all because they cannot earn a fair price for produce? Neither tea industry nor Sri Lanka can genuinely afford the adaptation we need to make to continue to offer the world the healthy herb. This is the context of our Grower's Story. It echoes in every agricultural sector sustaining an existential threat that begins with tea, but quickly expands to include humanity.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2L1wKyBLhc
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Dilmah Tea: 2026 could be the toughest year for tea growers
Dilmah Tea: 2026 could be the toughest year for tea growers
HONG KONG, Feb. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- To inspire students in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA), unleash their creativity, and engage with the evolving landscape of new media, the Department of Marketing and International Business at Lingnan University organised The City Through My Lens: A Social Media Campaign - Video Competition 2025. Students were invited to form teams and create short promotional social media videos capturing the highlights of their cities. The competition provided a platform for GBA secondary school students to express their creativity and broaden their horizons, while also strengthening the connection between the University and the younger generation. This is the first time the competition has included schools across the GBA, and there were 18 entrants. The championship was awarded to Malvern College Hong Kong, the first runner-up was St. Paul's Convent School, and the other runners-up were the HKSYC&IA Chan Nam Chong Memorial College, Sha Tin College, St. Paul's Secondary School and Yew Chung International School.
The awards ceremony was held on 7 February, and Prof Patrick Poon Shing-chung, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies and AACSB) of Faculty of Business of Lingnan University, congratulated all the winning teams in his welcoming speech, saying "The videos submitted by the students convey the creativity and inventive spirit of the new generation. Many of them incorporate technology and AI elements, and use the latest tools to raise production quality, reflecting the students' abilities in research and practice. This aligns with Lingnan University's philosophy of holistic education, emphasising interdisciplinary practice, and combining technology and innovation with a humanistic perspective. The University is dedicated to cultivating students' natural aptitude to meet the demands of the future, and the work submitted indicates that they already have the potential for interdisciplinary modernisation."
All the teams were asked to produce a video of no more than three minutes based on an original story, presenting the city from their perspective. If AI tools were used, students were required to specify which, and how they were used. The judging panel of professors from the Department of Marketing and International Business assessed the entries on their relevance to theme, creativity, and technical execution.
The judging panel praised the 18 videos for their artistic imagination and depth. Various filming techniques including aerial shots were used, and good editing enhanced the overall quality, demonstrating the technological and original talents of the younger generation in the digital age.
After several rounds of viewing and marking, the video from Malvern College Hong Kong emerged as the best, and won a prize of HK$5,000. The video shows the wonderful journey of a girl exploring Hong Kong's multiculturalism in her dreams: visiting various districts, including bustling Hong Kong Island, the Chinese-inspired Lingnan Garden in Lai Chi Kok, the arts and culture hub in West Kowloon, and the diverse district of Mong Kok. The video captures Hong Kong's unique characteristics, featuring the city's charm and blending Eastern and Western cultures seamlessly.
Delighted, the winning team said "We are grateful to the staff at Lingnan University for their guidance throughout the competition. We faced challenges both large and small, from capturing Hong Kong authentically to managing heavy video files, but our perseverance and teamwork helped to create a video that showcases the city through our unique lens."
Prof Peng Ling, Head of the Department of Marketing and International Business, said "The Lingnan Faculty of Business hopes that this competition will demonstrate the University's teaching characteristics in the integration of the arts and sciences, nurturing students with literacy knowledge, practical competence, and the ability to think critically. We believe that the creativity, communication skills, and spirit of teamwork demonstrated by students in this competition will lay a valuable foundation for their future studies and careers."
To instruct students in filming and editing techniques, the Department of Marketing and International Business organised a pre-competition "Workshop for Secondary School Students: AI-powered Video Editing (for Beginners)". Led by Prof Qi Suntong, Assistant Professor of the Department of Marketing and International Business, the workshop coached students in the newest AI tools for image, video, voice-over, and music creation, as well as in practical scriptwriting, storyboard design, and film production with cinematic qualities. Students learnt how to use the tools to enhance their storytelling, and also displayed their work and held discussions during the workshop, which inspired them, and encouraged them to use technology skilfully and correctly in both the competition and their future studies.
For award details, please visit: https://www.ln.edu.hk/mkt/lumsm-2025/award-winners.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Lingnan University hosts "The City Through My Lens: A Social Media Campaign - Video Competition" with an AI training workshop for 18 secondary school teams from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area
