Sri Lanka imposed a ban on Chinese organic fertilizer after the bacteria named 'Erwinia' were detected.

·         Sri Lanka has banned imports of organic fertilizers made in China after state agriculture officials detected harmful bacteria in them for the second time.

·         Sri Lanka was to import 99,000 metric tonnes of organic fertilizer from China's Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co Ltd for $63 million.

·         On 17 September, agricultural experts in Sri Lanka found that China produced organic manure that contained a microorganism called 'Erwinia'.

Important facts

About Sri Lanka

v  Former name: Ceylon

v  Separated from the Indian continent: by the Gulf of Munnar and the Palk Strait

v  Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

v  President: Gotabaya Rajapakse

v  Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee