Sri Lanka's Apex Organisation for Export Promotion
The demand for organic food products is continuously increasing due to the growing interest in markets such as EU, USA, Middle East, Japan, and China. Among the producing countries, Sri Lanka maintains a reputation as a reliable producer and supplier of organic agricultural products adhering to the internationally required organic standards such as “EU Organic”, “USDA”, “JAS” etc. Even during COVID-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka has received considerable amount of orders for organic food products such as tea, spices, coconut kernel products, jack fruit products, traditional rice, kithul treacle etc. As a result, increasing the supply base of organic food products to serve the foreign orders on time is necessary to bring more foreign currency to the country. Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, and Australia are the main markets for these products. Even though our farmers/processors follow organic agricultural and processing practices, the products will not be marketed as “organic” unless it is verified and certified by a third-party-accredited certification body.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Embassy in China and the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Shanghai has made arrangements to organize Sri Lanka’s participation at the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE),which is currently taking place at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai.
Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) is planning to hold the 24th Presidential Export Awards Ceremony for the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21 on 26th November 2021 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) under the patronage of His Excellency the President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Belgium, together with the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka (EDB) promoted Ceylon tea, Sri Lanka spices and coconut-based products at the 8th edition of the INTRAFOOD trade fair in Kotrijk, Belgium on 27 to 28 October 2021.
Sri Lanka’s merchandize exports in September 2021 recorded US$ 995.8 Mn as per the data released by the Sri Lanka Customs.
EDB has been informed by the Sri Lanka Embassy in China that New Regulation on Exporter Registration will be in effective from 1st January 2022 imposed by the General Administration of Custom of China (GACC) for all overseas food manufacturers.
Sri Lanka’s merchandize exports in August 2021 recorded an increase of 14.4 % to US$ 1,083.56 Mn as compared to US$ 947.2 Mn recorded in August 2020 as per the data released by the Sri Lanka Customs.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Embassy in South Korea organized Sri Lanka product displays to promote the Food & Beverage sector in the Korean market. Sri Lankan food products were promoted in Korea Import Good Fair (KIGF) organized by Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) from 22nd to 24thJuly, 2021, at COEX, Seoul, and during the Seoul Food & Hotel Show (SFH) which was held at Korea International Exhibition Center (Kintex) from 27thto 30th July, 2021. Both events provided opportunities for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to explore new business leads and strengthen the existing business networks.
Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) is planning to hold the 24rh Presidential Export Awards Ceremony for the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21 on 26th November 2021 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) under the patronage of His Excellency the President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka’s exports have surpassed the $ 1 billion mark in July after four months’ time period where the similar achievement was only recorded in March during this year.
A webinar on ‘Finding a Market for Agri Products in EU’ with a special focus on organic markets, organised by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Germany in collaboration with the Import Promotion Desk of Germany and Export Development Board of Sri Lanka was held on 29 July, with over 200 participants across large to SME Agri sector exporters.
The Export Development Board (EDB) raised concerns on the shortage of containers as a result of multiple global supply chain bottlenecks.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi, India jointly organized an online briefing session with Amazon India (www.amazon.in) on 29th June, 2021, to explore the digital marketing opportunities available for the Sri Lankan exporters in the Indian market via the highly reputed e-commerce platform; amazon.in.
As per the latest statistics released by the Sri Lanka Customs, the export sector performance has been able to maintain its upward trend in June 2021 with exports increasing by 9.41 % to US$ 978.2 Mn compared to June 2020. This upward trend was evident year-on-year for the last four months.
A webinar on “EU Market Trends in Agri Products Sector” organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Germany in collaboration with the Import Promotion Desk of Germany and Export Development Board of Sri Lanka was held on 30 June, 2021 with a view to educating Sri Lankan exporters on trends in the processed food, natural ingredients and fresh produce sectors, who wished to enter or expand in the German and wider EU market.
Sri Lanka’s export sector performance has been able to managed its growth momentum in May 2021 with the challenges of this pandemic. “We are happy to see that export levels are reaching fast to the pre-Covid 19 levels despite the continuous multiple challenges faced by our exporters with intermittent travel restrictions and local area isolations. Maximum efforts are be taken to secure the export orders in hand while attracting new orders to the country – the responsibility of the authorities are to facilitate the exporters in every possible way to keep them operating”, Chairman, EDB.
The Consulate General of Sri Lanka to Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania together with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and the Sri Lanka and Australia Chamber of Commerce (SLACC) organised a webinar titled – Exporting to Australia – What you need to know - on the 20th May, 2021. Kalum De Silva, President of SLACC, moderated the session. He is the founding national president of SLACC.
Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Suresh de Mel yesterday presented six focused sectors that provide a plethora of opportunities for export-oriented global firms to set up bases in Sri Lanka.
EDB Chairman Suresh de Mel stated that the export target would certainly witness a revision due to the week-long travel restrictions that have come into effect and several areas being caught under the isolation. However, he said it is too premature to assess the impact or divulge the revised target. He noted that the revision is ‘absolutely necessary’.
Sri Lanka’s export performance continued its upward momentum in the first three months of 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic induced lockdown last year, exports were contracted by a record 64.63 per cent in April 2020. However in April this year, exports grew up by 183 per cent to US$ 798.9 Mn in comparison to the previous year.
