Qingdao in bid to save face
Chinese fertiliser company Qingdao Seawin Biotech company has proposed that the Ceylon Fertilizer Company (CFC) sign a joint statement with them to be published in all local media that the ship should return to China not due to quality issues but since the import permit has not been issued.
It is learnt that following the company officials meeting with the Agriculture Ministry officials and Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage on Monday the Qingdao company had in a letter to the CFC proposed that both parties should sign a joint statement that they should return to China not due to quality issues relating to the fertiliser sent but since the Sri Lankan authorities had not issued an import permit for the said consignment of fertiliser. This statement they wanted to be published in all Sri Lankan media. The letter was received on November 10 by CFC, informed sources said.
In the letter the company noted that they are willing to cooperate to send the ship back to China and return as instructed by the Agriculture Ministry.
This proposal has been put forward to save the reputation of the Qingdao company that sells its fertiliser to about 60 countries.
CFC sources insist that when they were made aware that the fertiliser sent by the Qingdao company was not upto the standards recommended by the Sri Lanka Standards they had informed the Qingdao company about it. That is when the CFC learnt that the said fertiliser had already been shipped by the Qingdao company.
It is learnt that the Qingdao officials had switched off their information system after they were given a phone call and asked why they set sail when an import permit had not yet been issued to them.