Sri Lanka's Apex Organisation for Export Promotion
A session on ‘Bilateral Trade between Sri Lanka and France’ organised by the National Chamber of Commerce was held with the participation of Ambassador of France Jean Paul Monchau, as a Special Guest Speaker and assisted by Commercial Counsellor of the Trade Section of the Embassy Jean Louis POLI, at the Chamber, last week. Additionally Government senior officials- Director General Commerce, Director General, Export Development Board and Board of Investment graced the occasion.
For the first time, the Export Development Board has entered WTO, UNCTAD, ITCs benchmark of global export agencies and finished among the top ten. EDB has come to the sixth spot among 30 national trade promotion organisations across the world, benchmarked by the International Trade Centre under WTO and UNCTAD. EDB's score in 2012 study is above average and the next level to move is 80% "High level TPO Performance" category and then, finally to 100% -what we call "world class".
"EDB has done quite well in International Trade Centre's 2012 Lanka EDB benchmarking test. EDB has come to sixth spot among 30 national trade promotion organisations across the world, benchmarked by us-the International Trade Centre under WTO and UNCTAD" said Geneva based Martin Labbe (Senior Officer, Trade Support Institutions Strengthening, International Trade Centre, Switzerland) in Colombo addressing the inaugural session of the four day "Performance Improvement Roadmap for Sri Lanka's EDB by ITC" at the EDB Auditorium, Colombo.
The UAE government announced the lifting of the ban on Sri Lanka's export of chicken and eggs to the UAE market with immediate effect. UAE had previously imposed a blanket ban on Asian countries including Sri Lanka, covering the export of chicken meat and eggs due to Notifiable Avian Influenza (NAI).
Sri Lanka made a presentation to the Animal and Agricultural Affairs of the UAE Water and Environment Ministry to lift the ban as Sri Lanka is now free of Avian Influenza.
Industry and Commerce Ministry Commerce Department officials took up the matter through the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Dubai and submitted the documents with the support of the Department of Animal Production and Health, Peradeniya and the Industry stakeholders to UAE authorities to prove that Sri Lanka is now free of Avian Influenza.
The first-ever Sri Lanka-Belarus official trade talks commenced in Colombo yesterday amidst avowed assertions from both sides towards forging sustainable trade links while making inroads to the huge ‘New Asian’ and upcoming Eurasian Union markets. The first Colombo talks have now paved the way for a prospective future visit of the President of Belarus to Sri Lanka.
“I am pleased to note that Belarus is Sri Lanka’s first gateway to the promising EEU new single market. Our Free Trade Agreements with Pakistan and India have opened gateways to a South Asian market of 1.2 billion. Equally important is Sri Lanka’s forthcoming FTA with China. Therefore, we invite you to partner with Sri Lanka and take advantage of the new Asian opportunity,” said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen on 9 July in Colombo.
Sri Lanka in a bid to achieve its $ 20 B export target by 2020, handed over on July 01, the task of producing an initial way forward blueprint by August to an international consultancy firm.
“Today we are launching the first step of EDB’s Strategic Plan creation which aims to achieve $ 20 Bn by 2020. Hilmy’s enormous experience and expertise will definitely enhance the total process of EDB in a positive way” said Bandula Egodage (Chairman/CEO, EDB) addressing the session on July 01.. He further said, " We also thank VEGA USAID for the contribution towards this initiative. We all know that our national target is $ 20 Bn by 2020 but there is a big mismatch-our current export strategic plan ends in 2015 and there is a strategy gap from 2015-2020; We are launching today’s initiative to bridge this gap and draw the plan till 2020 to complete this in a professional and a focused way.”
As Fairtrade becomes the latest sales driver in international markets, Sri Lanka has stepped up its efforts to meet the new standard. A promising Lankan export niche has become the successful testing ground for Sri Lanka’s entry into global Fairtrade certification regime – and the EDB, which leads the initiative, has received encouraging feedback from many – including a global consultant on Fairtrade.
“I am impressed of Sri Lanka’s craft makers and exporters. Their products are of high quality,” said a satisfied Paul Myers, the visiting USAID/VEGA Fairtrade Expert on 19 June at EDB, Colombo.
The North Western Provincial office of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, successfully conducted the awareness seminar/workshop on fruits & vegetables for the export market on 24th March 2014 in Anuradhapura with the participation of 115 fruits & vegetable farmers in North Central Province. The programme was organized by NWP-EDB with the assistance of Department of Agriculture, National Plant Quarantine Service and Lanka Fruits & Vegetable Producers, Processors & Exporters Association.
The main objective of conducting this seminar was to increase the capacity of Fruits & Vegetable farmers in the North Central Province by way of enhancing Technical/Market awareness and facilitating linkages between farmers and exporters in order to develop consolidated supply base of quality fruits & vegetables for exports from Regions.
Sri Lanka is leveraging ICT exports to achieve its $20 B goal of 2020. And a new support initiative by the Netherlands is set to elevate Lankan software exporters to latest tech developments. “The government is highly focused on ICT sector as a forex earner and export driver. We cannot ignore ICT if we are to achieve any progress” said Bandula Egodage (Chairman/CEO of EDB) on 19 June in Colombo.
Chairman Egodage was addressing the two day-hands on interactive session “Website Enhancement and Online Marketing ITO/BPO” organised by the EDB for Sri Lankan software manufacturing and export firms. The first ever such hands-on initiative moved by EDB was facilitated by Netherlands’ CBI (Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries)-an agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Joost vander Kooij and Onno Roukens, the two CBI professional consultants who specially arrived from the Netherlands to train the companies in the session helped the more than 25 Lankan participants of the session on a one-to-one basis. Among the ICT giants taking part were John Keells Computer Services, hSenid Business Solutions, 99X Technologies, Cyber Concepts, SewEasy, E-Nowave, InfoMate, Calcey Technologies, Pyxle, Allion Technologies, Dinota Information Technologies, Sanje, i-Context Content Convergence, Four Corners, Akio Information Technologies, Data Management Systems, Lanka Communication Services, E Marketing Eye, and Perfect Business Solution Services.
Fish and fishery product sector plays an important role in Sri Lanka’s Social and economic life. The Sector contributes about 2.7% to country’s GDP.End of the civil unrest detained three decades in the country, fisheries sector has a significant scope to increase the level of contribution through exploiting high seas for tuna fishing & value addition.
Sri Lanka’s main fishery export products include tuna, fresh chilled and frozen form, shrimps & prawns, crabs and lobsters.Other than the above shark fins, fish maws, beche-de-mer, cuttle fish & squid, sprats are also exports mostly to the Asian markets. United Kingdom is the main market for Sri Lankan tuna followed by France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany etc.
Sri Lanka’s coconut related exports increased by 86 percent during the first quarter of this year compared to 2011, Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development Ministry sources said yesterday.
The Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development Ministry was established in 2011 as a new Cabinet ministry. According to ministry statistics, during the first quarter of this year, Sri Lanka earned over Rs. 5,090 million from coconut related products, an 88 percent increase from the same period in 2011.
In the first quarter of 2011 it was Rs. 2,115 million. It increased annually and the total coconut related products export revenue in 2013 stood at Rs. 44,952 million. Sri Lanka exports 35 coconut related products to 135 countries.
Pakistan, Sri Lanka’s second largest trade partner in the region, has indicated interest in expanding its free trade agreement (FTA) trade with the island, creating growth in bilateral trade, which already exceeds the US $ 460 million mark, according to Sri Lanka’s trade ministry.
In a statement the ministry said that Pakistan’s High Commissioner Qasim Qureshi had indicated that his country looks forward to expand FTA trade by reducing sensitive items, thereby creating more opportunities for Lankan exporters.
Sri Lanka has a favourable ‘per container cost to export’ rate of only $ 595. After reporting $1.07 Bn record exports in March, the country is now mulling a new high tech initiative to help exporters to lower this rate for added competitive advantage-while eager Lankan exporters are already testing to avail themselves to a portion of $60Bn global savings from Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).
Sri Lanka's first quarter exports registered a positive growth of 16%, while monthly exports for March jumped by as much as 27%.
"This is encouraging for our efforts towards $ 20 bn export goal by 2020 as envisioned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa," said Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce on May 9 in Colombo.
Accordingly, this year's first quarter provisional exports totalled $ 2.80 bn while the comparative 2013 first quarter total exports stood at $ 2.36 bn, showing a 15.7% Q-on-Q growth.
Sri Lanka’s earnings from exports of textiles and garments grew by 6.6 percent to US$ 396.2 million in February 2014, compared to earnings of $371.6 million recorded in same month last year, according to a press release on ‘External Sector Performance – February 2014’ issued by the Economics Research Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The statement reflected two key trends in Sri Lanka’s textile and garment trade—an increase in apparel exports to non-traditional markets and a higher local value addition in the clothing industry.
The external sector further strengthened in February 2014 with the trade deficit continuing to narrow as a result of an increase in earnings from exports and a decline in expenditure on imports.
Inflows on account of workers' remittances and earnings from tourism recorded an increase during the month contributing to the substantial reduction in the current account deficit. These developments together with continued inflows to the financial account resulted in a surplus in the Balance of Payments (BOP) upto February 2014, the Central Bank said yesterday.
Sri Lanka's exports rose 5.4 percent in February 2014 from a year earlier, with apparel exports up 6.6 percent, while imports fell amid weak credit growth, official data showed.
In the first two months of the year exports were up 13.9 percent to 1,739 million US dollars, the Central Bank said. Agricultural exports rose 15.3 percent to 201.2 million US dollars with tea up 11.7 percent to 115.6 million US dollars.
Sri Lanka has earned over Rs 1.2 billion last year from exporting ornamental fish and measures will be taken to double this income by 2016, the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry says.
Sri Lanka's ornamental fish production had produced over 46,000 metric tons in 2009 and this amount has increased to nearly 70,000 metric tons last year, placing Sri Lanka in the third place in exporting ornamental fishes, according to the Ministry.
Just a day after unveiling cinnamon logo licenses, Sri Lanka’s exporters heaped praise on the Government and the Export Development Board for the latest national initiative towards their sector on 8 April. “We are proud to have won this Pure Ceylon Cinnamon logo. To the global markets, this symbol shows where true cinnamon originates from. The EDB has really come out with it!” said an upbeat Priyadarshani Halpe, General Manager, G.P. de Silva & Sons International Ltd.
Halpe, one among many exporters who expressed similar sentiments, was speaking about the ‘Inaugural issuance of Pure Ceylon Cinnamon brand licenses to Lankan exporters’ event held at EDB Auditorium, Colombo on 7 April.
As Sri Lanka’s first batch of exporters successfully captured their licences to officially flavour the world with Sri Lanka’s second global brand yesterday, the country recommitted to $ 1 billion in spice and cinnamon exports by 2020.
“Today, nine Sri Lankan cinnamon export firms are empowered by this initiative. Together, these nine firms claim more than 25% of our annual cinnamon export values. We are aiming at $ 1 billion in spice and cinnamon exports by 2020,” said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday, addressing the ‘Inaugural issuance of Pure Ceylon Cinnamon brand licenses to Lankan exporters event’ at the EDB Auditorium.
In yet another important industry support initiative in the tradition of Export Development Board for Lankan exporters, for the first time, nine Sri Lankan cinnamon export firms qualifying to export cinnamon using ‘Pure Ceylon Cinnamon brand license’ were awarded license certificates by Bathiudeen at the event. The qualifying exporters in the first batch were A Baur & Co Ltd., Casa Canela Ltd., Dtriangle Ltd, Food & Nature Ltd., G.P. De Silva & Sons International Ltd., Intercom Ltd., International Commodity Traders Ltd., Mohksha Ltd. and Rathna Producers Cinnamon Exports Ltd.
Sri Lanka Export Development Board in collaboration with the Sri Lanka High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa is organising Sri Lanka’s participation at the South African International Trade Exhibition (SAITEX) to be held from June 22 to 24, 2014 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa and Afro- Sri Lanka Business Forum to be organised in coincide with SAITEX2014.
SAITEX is the most popular and the region’s largest multi sector international trade fair organized in South Africa for over 20 years. SAITEX serves as a strategic gateway to entire African region.
