In a letter to the relevent parties, Ceylon Fertilizer Company Ltd has informed the fertilizer stock of China’s Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Ltd which is currently in MV Hippo Spirit vessel is not in conformity with the conditions of the contract.
The letter stated that according to the final report of National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) in Sri Lanka, the fertilizer stock cannot be considered as sterile because the tested samples showed they are contaminated wit several bacteria species.
Meanwhile, Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Ltd has already dispatched 20,000MT organic fertilizer to Colombo on the ‘MV Hippo Spirit’, despite the failure of meeting the conditions of the contract, raising the question as to who issued the import licence to the company.
According to Ceylon Today, the vessel ‘Hippo Spirit’ left for Sri Lanka on 22 September 2021, from China, right after the second organic fertilizer sample sent by Qingdao Seawin Biotech to Sri Lanka for testing, was found highly contaminated.
It is reported that Director General of Department of Agriculture has not issued the permit to the company. The ship is a Panamian flagged vessel and it was anchored in the Port of Singapore and is currently heading towards Sri Lanka through the Strait of Malacca.
After the second test report had been released, showing results of contaminated organic fertilizer, the ship had sailed to the Port of Singapore and was anchored there.