Colombo, Oct 23 (UNI) Sri Lanka's state-owned Ceylon Fertilizer Company Limited has got a court order to block payment to China’s Qingdao Seawin Biotech over the latter's shipment of organic fertilizer which was contaminated with harmful bacteria.
“The enjoining order has prevented the People’s Bank from making any payment under a Letter of Credit opened in favour of the Chinese company, Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd,” a statement from the President’s Office said.
Colombo Commercial High Court had issued the order on October 22, against the Qingdao Seawin Biotech, its local agent and the state-run People’s Bank, economynext.com reported.
Though the Chinese firm was supposed to ship sterile organic fertilizer when it won the tender, in the shipping document it had said there may be micro-organisms.
“The National Plant Quarantine Services had tested the sample sent to them and had confirmed the presence of organisms, including certain types of harmful bacteria,” the statement said.
“The consignment is a partial shipment worth more than a billion rupees that was procured through a tender process initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture.
“The Court was informed that even though the Chinese Company was required to ship sterile organic fertiliser under the tender contract, it had admitted in its shipping advice that the consignment may contain microorganisms.”
Chinese fertilizer contaminated with harmful Erwinia bacteria has been hotly debated in the Sri Lanka parliament.
The Sri Lanka government cancelled plans to import 99,000 metric tonnes of organic fertiliser at a cost of $63 million from China's Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co Ltd. after harmful bacteria was detected last month.
Colombo has decided to import fertiliser from India instead.
On October 20, the first consignment of nano nitrogen liquid fertilizer from India arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake for distribution to farmers with paddy cultivation having already begun.
The consignment of 100,000 litres was brought onboard a Sri Lankan Airlines A330-300 flight and is the first of the 3.1 million litres of nano fertilizers that is to be imported to Sri Lanka.
Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told Parliament that laboratory tests conducted on the organic fertiliser samples sent from India have confirmed that they were suitable for use in Sri Lanka.
UNI/RN