Ceylon Tea Brokers

What Ceylon Tea Brokers does

Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC is a publicly listed Sri Lankan tea broking company headquartered in Colombo 10, operating at the Colombo Tea Auction since 1963 and listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in 2010 as the first standalone tea broking company to achieve that status. The firm intermediates between tea factories (sellers) and buyers, providing broking, marketing, warehousing, sampling, manufacturing advisory, and financing services for teas from all major Sri Lankan elevations — Uva High, Uva Medium, Western High, Western Medium, and Low Grown. As of 2022 it handled over 16% of total auction volume and 15.77% of auction value, making it one of the leading brokers by share at the Colombo auction.

The company's core technology stack centers on a set of proprietary web portals that extend the traditional auction workflow: the SL Tea Auction (online bidding platform launched in 2021), the EDO Buyer Portal, the tbBOSS trading and operations system, the StatDash analytics dashboard, and supporting internal tools (SCS, PTC, HelpDesk). These systems replaced or augmented the manual floor auction with electronic bidding, buyer self-service, and operational digitization. Physical infrastructure includes a corporate office in Colombo 10, a sample room in Grandpass, and warehouses in Colombo and Wattala.

Revenue is generated primarily through commissions on tea broking transactions executed at the Colombo Tea Auction, with supplementary income from the 2017-acquired logistics subsidiary Logicare (Pvt) Ltd. The company serves tea factories as its principal customer segment, with no named end-customer logos disclosed. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, consistent with commission-based intermediation. Capital Alliance Group has been the majority owner since the 2005 acquisition, and a first Rights Issue was conducted in 2018.

Name

Ceylon Tea Brokers

Legal name

Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC

Website

https://ceylonteabrokers.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC is the first standalone tea broking company listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, providing tea broking, warehousing, sampling, and manufacturing advisory services to Sri Lankan tea factories across all elevations since 1963.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tea Brokerage Services

NAICS

Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (425), Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (42512), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316)

SIC

Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Coffee & Tea Service Supplies Wholesale (AFAIALAH)

Keywords

• Tea broking services
• Tea auction services
• Tea warehousing
• Tea marketing
• Tea sampling

Headquarters

HQ city

Colombo

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tea Broking Commission: Revenue generated from broking tea sales at the Colombo Tea Auction. The company acts as an intermediary between tea factories (sellers) and buyers at the auction, earning commissions on transactions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC operates as a tea broker at the Colombo Tea Auction, providing broking and marketing services for tea factories across all elevations (Uva High, Uva Medium, Western High, Western Medium, and Low Grown). The company facilitates tea sales through both traditional auction methods and online auctions (commenced 2021), handling over 16% of total tea volume sold at the Colombo Tea Auction. Additional services include warehousing, sampling, manufacturing advisory, and financing support for tea factories.

Product overview

Ceylon Tea Brokers is a tea broking company that operates as a unified platform combining core broking services with multiple integrated digital tools. The core offering is tea broking and marketing services for tea factories across all elevation categories, representing over 16% of the Colombo Tea Auction volume. This core service is supported by a suite of proprietary web portals and systems including the SL Tea Auction (online auction platform), EDO Buyer Portal, tbBOSS trading system, StatDash analytics dashboard, and operational tools (SCS, PTC, HelpDesk). The company also provides Market Reports and Financial Reports as part of its service portfolio. Logistics services were added in 2017 via the acquisition of Logicare (Pvt) Ltd.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tea Broking and Marketing Services Core broking and marketing services for tea factories, acting as intermediary between tea producers and buyers at the Colombo Tea Auction across all elevation categories.
• Online Tea Auctions (SL Tea Auction) Electronic auction platform enabling online tea trading with real-time bidding and transaction processing for tea factories and buyers.
• Warehousing Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Handles over 16% of total volume of Tea sold at Colombo Tea Auction
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• J.M. Baxi & Co. Indian-headquartered tea and commodity broker active at Indian auctions (Kolkata, Guwahati, Cochin, Coonoor). Regionally comparable as a tea auction broker serving a major producing country.

Broad incumbents

• John Keells PLC: Sri Lankan conglomerate with tea-related trading and plantation exposure. Comparable as a broad incumbent in Sri Lankan tea commerce, though much larger and diversified beyond broking.
• Armajaro Trading: Soft commodity trader with historical exposure to tea origination and trading. Comparable in commodity intermediation, though it operates globally and across multiple soft commodities.
• Volcafe (ED&F Man): Global coffee and tea trader/broker with origination, trading, and warehousing arms. Comparable as a broad incumbent commodity intermediary, though much larger and multi-origin.

Direct peers

• Bartleet Peter Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd: Historic Sri Lankan tea broking firm at the Colombo Tea Auction with similar auction-floor broking and marketing services. Direct competitor for factory representation and buyer relationships.
• Asia Siyaka Commodities PLC: Sri Lankan-listed tea broker and commodity trader also operating at the Colombo Tea Auction. Closely comparable business model (commission-based broking across elevations) and listed-company status.
• Forbes & Walker Tea Brokers (Pvt) Ltd: One of the longest-standing tea brokers operating at the Colombo Tea Auction alongside CTB. Directly comparable as a domestic peer broking Ceylon teas from multiple elevations on commission.
• Parcon (Private) Limited: Sri Lankan tea broker operating at the Colombo Tea Auction; directly comparable in core broking and marketing services for Ceylon tea factories.
• Mercantile Produce Brokers (Pvt) Ltd: Tea broker at the Colombo auction handling multiple elevations; directly comparable scale and commission-based broking model.

Others

• Tata Tea (Tata Consumer Products): Major vertically integrated tea company with auction procurement arms. Adjacent rather than direct peer — comparable only as a large-scale participant that buys at tea auctions, not as a competing broker.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCslCBhHBbjm-sb_o2TCdG3Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/ceylonteabrokers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ceylon-tea-brokers
• Instagraminstagram.com/Ceylon_tea_brokers
• TikToktiktok.com/@ceylonteabrokers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ceylon Tea Brokers