The barter trade will be carried out in accordance with the agreement signed by Sri Lanka and Iran in 2021. It provides for monthly shipments of Sri Lankan tea (each shipment worth $5 million) over the course of four years tp pay for the Iranian crude received by Sri Lanka's Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) in 2012.
Niraj de Mel, Chairman of Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), revealed in an interview with Mirror Business that the practice of trading tea for oil will enable Sri Lanka to avoid dollar transactions.