More foreign exchange from value addition of export products from Sri Lanka
Mr. Suresh de Mel
Sri Lanka’s coconut exports during the last few years have seen good growth with value addition being a key factor.
There are around 3,000 hectares of coconut land certified as organic land in the country. Coconut products are exported in the form of fresh coconut milk powder, oil, chips etc which receive a premium price for its value addition products. However due a shortage of coconut land in the country, Sri Lanka should concentrate more on value addition to export its products to the European Union, said the Chairman of the Export Development Board (EDB) of Sri Lanka Suresh De Mel at a webinar on “Sourcing Organic Food Products from Sri Lanka” last week.
He said Sri Lanka is one the major organic agriculture producers in Asia described as a niche market. The products involved are tea and coconut- based products and the first to be certified in the world as an organic tea producer and the second organic producer and exporter of tea to many countries. Organic certification is the best certification for agricultural products along with branding and packaging and fair trade certification. Apart from tea and coconut Sri Lanka has exported spices for a long time.
Spices is a natural organic product grown in home gardens by small producers. Spices include cinnamon that should be value added than exporting in bulk as raw cinnamon. Black pepper is another spice, most sought after for meat production in Europe. Other spices grown in Sri Lanka include cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla and medicinal herbs.
“We also have an opportunity to export organic rice to the European market. Kitul treacle is another product that we are engaged in, in 1,000 export processing villages, around the country in a new concept promoted by the Ministry of Trade,” he said. The EDB is the apex government body in Sri Lanka for exports and acts as a policy advisor and a monitor. EDB works in closer collaboration with the German and European Union trade chambers.
Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Udith Jayasinghe said Sri Lanka being an island is one of the bio-diverse hot spots in the world. A peaceful environment prevails now in the country with the end of the war more than 10 years ago so that tourists and investors can come to the country. Sri Lanka is now moving towards becoming a fully organic agricultural country in a decade’s time. “Certification, packaging labelling and branding is vital to identify organic agriculture products from other products and we look forward to the US to help set up a system to identify organic products for exports,” he said.
Chief Delegate of the German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka Andreas Hergenroether said the object of the event is to pave the way for Sri Lankan exporters to obtain broader market access to the European market to sell organic agriculture produce by assisting them with the certification process and other areas. Today the organic agriculture produce in the world is worth more than US$110 billion. The European Union market is ahead of the US for organic products from Sri Lanka, where one third of exports go to the EU. The German market is the most important for Sri Lanka supporting the certification process.
Head of Development Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union of Sri Lanka, Country Director GLZ Christiane Einfeldt said 80 percent of the businesses in Sri Lanka can be categorised as Small and Medium (SME) businesses representing 35 percent of employment in the country. Two-third of the SME’s is involved in the agricultural sector. Sri Lanka has been recognised as a major organic producer in Asia. There has been a notable increase during the past few years for Sri Lankan organic products in reaching supermarket shelves of the European Union, a niche identity for Sri Lanka goods. But many local SME’s do not have access to international markets. The conference was arranged to support the SME entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, co-financed by the German Government and the European Union and implemented by the Government of Sri Lanka.