Sri Lanka's export trade sector grows 11.1%

Ceylon Today - 16/11/2014

Sri Lanka's Export Trade sector recorded a relatively a higher growth of 11.1 per cent in second quarter 2014, when compared to the slower growth of 1.2 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2013, Department of Census and Statistics said in its Quarterly Estimates of Gross Domestic Product report released recently.

According to the Balance of Payment statistics of Central Bank of Sri Lanka, export earnings increased to Rs343,058 million in the second quarter of 2014, from Rs291,274 million in the second quarter 2013, indicating a growth of 17.8 per cent, said the Census and Statistics Department.

Compared to the second quarter of 2013, agricultural and industrial exports grew by 26.5 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. According to the Trade Indices of Central Bank, export volume index and unit value, index have increased by 11.6 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively in second quarter 2014.
Sri Lanka will import 50,000 metric tonnes of rice from Bangladesh to ensure food security and control the escalating price of Sri Lankan's staple food.

The Sri Lankan Cabinet, according to the Colombo Page web site, has given its approval for the purchase of rice stock from Bangladesh on a government-to-government basis.
The measure has been taken in anticipation of the demand that will arise during the forthcoming Yala Harvest festive season.

The import of rice is to be carried out immediately and the stocks will be distributed through island wide supermarkets of Lanka Sathosa, the state-owned wholesale and retail grocery network at an affordable price.

Sri Lanka's rice harvest has been hit by the prolonged drought in the rice growing districts of Polonnaruwa, Hambantota, Moneragala, Ampara and Vavuniya.

The proposal to purchase this stock of rice from Bangladesh was submitted to the Cabinet by President Rajapaksa in his capacity as Minister of Finance.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka and Mauritania signed an agreement to establish a Joint Commission on Cooperation to further strengthen relations between the two countries.

The signing took place following bilateral talks between Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz at the President's Office.
During the meeting between the two presidents, Mauritania requested for Sri Lanka's expertise and assistance in developing a number of sectors, including mining, health, vocational training, fisheries and agriculture.

Pointing out the advancements Sri Lanka has made in all these areas, President Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka is more than happy to assist in keeping with its overall policy of enhancing relations with Africa.
"We have been taking measures to strengthen our relations in Africa," President Rajapaksa said. (Reuters)

Bangladesh announces speedier trade pact in the offing

Daily FT - 13/11/2014

• Good news, prefer an FTA: Rishad
• Talks will conclude successfully: Ashan
• YoY bilateral trade jumps by 67%

Minister of Industry and Commerce Tarik Ashan (third from left) greets Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Tarik Ashan (second from left) yesterday in Colombo as Bangladeshi High Commission Colombo Counsellor and HOC F.M. Borhan Uddin (far left), Ministry of Industry and Commerce Secretary Anura Siriwardene(third from right), DoC DG R.D.S. Kumararatne (second from right) and EDB Chairman/CEO Bandula Egodage (far right) look on

As bilateral trade with Bangladesh showed a strong rise, the country has signalled that it has now started moving towards the historic trade pact with Sri Lanka, as revealed yesterday in Colombo, and Bangladesh wants the agreement to be signed fast.

“At my final meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina just before my departure to Colombo, she advised me to focus strongly on trade during my new tenure in Sri Lanka. I am pleased to inform you that the trade agreement under discussion between both countries at present will come to a successful end,” announced the newly-appointed Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Tarik Ashan yesterday.


Ashan was addressing Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen and his top officials at EDB, Colombo, making his first courtesy call on Bathiudeen upon his arrival to Colombo. Ashan has been in Dhaka for the previous four years and this is the first time he has assumed overseas duties as a High Commissioner.

According to the Department of Commerce of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh is the 25th export destination of Sri Lanka in 2013. Bilateral trade between the countries jumped by a strong 67% in 2013 to $ 139.23 m (from 2012’s $ 83.19 m).

“Sri Lanka-Bangladesh bilateral trade has tripled over the last few years. Once agreed on technicalities, we need to sign the trade agreement immediately. In the meantime, in the coming days, we will start to respond to your trade suggestions made to us at the Colombo meeting on 23 September. The Government of Bangladesh wishes to appreciate Sri Lanka for its support in its international initiatives. We thank Sri Lanka for its support to Bangladesh at International Telecommunication Union ballots,” Ashan added.

On 23 September, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh successfully inked their second bilateral Joint Working Session in Colombo while also coming to a consensus on creating a prospective trade agreement between the historic partners, but stopped short of the exact nature of the trade agreement to be reached.

“We welcome your Government’s prompt response in this regard,” said Bathiudeen. “We are ready for the nature of agreement that you look forward to – whether a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) or a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Whatever the form, our Government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa would be positive on the requirements that you have. In fact we welcome a Free Trade Agreement if you so choose. Despite increase in trade, there is still a great potential for win-win outcomes and therefore it is now time to move beyond the current trade levels of $ 139 m. A trade agreement is the way forward to move towards bigger bilateral export baskets and volumes.”

Sri Lanka’s leading exports to Bangladesh in 2013 were apparel (cotton, fabrics, narrow woven fabrics and other articles of apparel) and enzymes. Leading imports from Bangladesh in 2013 were medicaments, apparel, electric accumulators, and potatoes – in fact, most of Sri Lankan exports to Bangladesh relate to the garment industry.

Ornamental fish featuring notably in 14 percent export growth

The Island - 10/11/2014
By Ifham Nizam

Sri Lanka has earned USD 7.34 billion from exports up to August this year, recording a positive growth of 14 per cent when compared to the corresponding period in 2013, said Sri Lanka Export Development Board Chairman cum Chief Executive Officer Bandula Egodage.

Addressing a gathering at the First International Ornamental Fish Trade Conference in Colombo yesterday he said despite many constraints and challenges faced by local exports domestically and internationally, the willingness shown by them to sustain continuous growth was commendable.

He added as an apex export promotion body of the country, EDB had directed its market strategies to capture more shares in the export market by focusing on the products having high growth trends.

Fish and fisheries product sector, including ornamental fish, has been identified in the EDB Strategic Plan for the year 2015-2020 as a priority product sector to be developed to achieve the national export target of USD 20 billion by 2020, he added.

Speaking on the occasion Industries and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said 40 Sri Lankan regular exporting companies have successfully taken 2.7 per cent share of the USD 400 million global ornamental fish market.

In 2013 Sri Lanka exported USD 10.7 million worth ornamental fish. This USD 10.7 million is an increase of a strong 41 per cent from 2012’s exports he said, adding that US, UK, Germany, Japan and France, were Sri Lanka’s top five buyers.

"What is important to note here is that, promising new global markets have begun to open for our products in 2013. The promising and profitable new markets come from the Middle-East. They are Qatar, Iran and Lebanon, who have strongly increased their demand for our ornamental fish products in 2013 for the first time, he said.

Bathiudeen added other new promising, markets in 2013, were Switzerland, Spain and Taiwan.

The minister said that with development, they are also concerned about the native species, threatened species entering the Red List. Thus, government is taking meaningful measures in this regard.

He said: "Of the 90 varieties of Lankan freshwater fish, 50 are considered to be endemic to Sri Lanka, about which, we all are, well aware of."

He said President Mahinda Rajapaksa, had assured that the government would intervene in securing new technology to provide information and incentives to the medium and small scale ornamental fish entrepreneurs, to access the international markets.

"On behalf of, our ornamental fish producers, let me commend, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa for his many unprecedented initiatives to safeguard Sri Lanka’s aquaculture, in Budget 2015.

"Total value of these initiatives are almost close to USD two million dollars, he said.

The minister pointed out that among the budget initiatives the following are notable; increasing inland fisheries production to 20 per cent of total fish production, a loan scheme to assist SME entrepreneurs to develop their fish farms, allocation of USD 1.5 million to develop 1000 inland fish farm villages, allocations for NARA fish breeding centers and allocating USD 380,000 for the expansion of ornamental fish exports.

The minister said that he has no doubts that our committed industry players would be able to meet these new markets, which is a sign of sector’s progress. Citing examples, he said 17 Sri Lankan firms were at last year’s Aquarama International in Singapore.

Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Rajitha Senaratne said that country’s exports to the European Union have shown an annual growth rate of 10 per cent over the last five years.

A smiling minister said keeping an aquarium was his first love in his childhood and added over the past 60 years a cottage scale or hobbyist industry has grown to exporting to more than 40 countries.

 More than 300 local and international delegates are taking part in the two-day conference.

 Renowned fish expert Gerald Bassleer too would make a presentation here. He is the President-OFI, a fish pathobiologist and has worked in the ornamental fish industry since 1977.

He is the author of several books and publications on ‘fish diseases’. He works at an international level as a professional trainer and consultant in the fish industry. Since 2006, he has been the President OFI, representing the international industry of ornamental fish, plants and invertebrates.

 Netherlands-based Ornamental Fish International – a worldwide organisation representing wholesalers, importers, exporters, manufacturers, breeders and other members of the ornamental fish, water plant, food and aquatic equipment industries-organises Aquarama in Singapore and Interzoo in Germany, the two major events in the industry.

 Co-organiser INFOFISH, originally launched in 1981 as a project of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, is an intergovernmental organization providing marketing information and technical advisory services to the fisheries industry of the Asia-Pacific region with headquarters in Malaysia. Fourteen countries, including Sri Lanka, are currently members of INFOFISH.

Rubber industry can grow bigger than garments

Daily FT - 10/11/2014

• Potential to become a 10 billion dollar business: Prabhash Subasinghe

Global Rubber Industries Managing Director Prabhash Subasinghe receiving the Platinum Sponsor award from Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa at the recently concluded Global Rubber Conference 

The rubber industry in Sri Lanka has the potential to grow bigger than the garment industry. “Unfortunately, foreign investors have not seen the possibility of this factor,” says Global Rubber Industries Ltd (GRI) Managing Director Prabhash Subasinghe.

According to GRI, a leading industrial solid tyre manufacturer based in Sri Lanka; supplying solid tyres to Original Equipment (OE) manufacturers and replacement markets in more than 45 countries worldwide since 2001; Sri Lanka is the world’s largest producer of high-quality solid tyres, dominating about 60% of the global market.

Commenting on Industry & Commerce Minister Rishard Bathiudeen’s statement at the recently held Global Rubber Conference (GRC) 2014, the MD of GRI said that Sri Lanka can become a natural polymer hub and that the country needs to strive towards making this goal a reality. The Global Rubber Conference, held for the first time in Sri Lanka earlier this month, was co-organised by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and supported by the International Rubber Research Development Board (IRRDB). The conference had over 20 global government agencies and associations participating in the event.

Currently Sri Lanka exports just under a billion dollars’ worth of value added rubber products says Prabhash Subasinghe. “Sri Lanka is the largest producer of solid tyres in the world. The value addition in this segment is over 60% and we can categorically state that this is the highest value addition especially in comparison with the garment industry. I am by no means being negative about garments but looking at the rubber industry on a positive note, I would like to explain why there is a huge future for the rubber industry in Sri Lanka. Taking into account the significant value addition as well as the vast potential for future investment; this industry in Sri Lanka can be a 10 billion dollar business.”

Since the solid tyre business category is relativelya small one, the MD of GRI points out that there is a need for Sri Lanka to increase production of rubber in order to grow the business. He says that the subsidy for rubber farmers in this year’s budget was an encouraging step towards this goal as that would help to promote more rubber production and especially support the small holders.

Speaking of the tyre trade he says, “We need large foreign manufacturers to come and invest in our tyre tradeas well as to look at other businesses which are parallel to the solid tyre business let it be in construction tyres, miningtyres, and agricultural tyres to name a few. As much as Sri Lanka is the global leader in solid tyres, we can also become global leaders in related industrial tyre products – and that should be our absolute target.”

The Export Department Board has said that by 2020, Sri Lanka should export 3 billion dollars worth. Currently exports from garments are valued at 5 billion dollars while rubber exports stand at only $ 1 billion.  However, according to Prabhash Subasinghe the value addition from rubber is far higher than most other products.

“What is important for a country is the value addition from exports because that value addition can only be kept within the country. When you look at our Sri Lankan foreign trade, we import products and we export products. In the case of garments, we have to import majority of the raw material from overseas, add value and then export; so your value addition percentage is smaller. This is certainly not the case with the tyre business; because we produce and grow rubber in Sri Lanka andwe add value in Sri Lanka as well. More than 80% of the rubber produced in Sri Lanka is value added locally.

“We also expect to increase our production in the future and hence the value addition in this trade will be far higher. High value addition is necessary for any country to grow, because value addition stays in the country.  In the case of the tyre manufacturing sector for export a value addition of 60% is currently retained in Sri Lanka.  Where there is more value addition a country can become more prosperous.”

Prabhash Subasinghe says we need to be known as a serious player in the raw material production if Sri Lanka is to attain ‘hub’ status, which is why rubber production overall needs to increase and manufacturing processes need to increase parallely in order for the country to become No. 1 in this industry. The plus factor according to him is that the country already has a lot of it in place, and only requires more awareness and the will to achieve the goal.

Trade renewal in offing with largest Nepali biz visit in a decade

Daily FT -  03/11/2014

• ‘Time for air links, new trade’: Nepal’s Dhakwa
• ‘Sending two teams’: EDB’s Egodage
• Bilateral trade at $ 5 m
• ‘Come to us & get Indo, Thai markets’: Nepal’s Dhakwa

TEPC Member of Board of Directors and the leader of the visiting Nepali delegation Bikash R. Dhakwa (third from right) gifts a copper and gold dust plated Shakyamuni Buddha statue crafted by Nepali artisans to EDB Chairman and CEO Bandula Egodage on 29 October in Colombo

As Lanka-Nepal trade leaped by threefold and showed new signs of revival, the biggest Nepali business delegation to Sri Lanka after almost a decade concluded their visit successfully on 2 November and also gave an unprecedented opening for the country’s artisans to enter two of the highly profitable craft markets in the region through Nepal and Sri Lanka’s creative artisans have been invited to November’s International Fair in Kathmandu.

“Sri Lanka and Nepal have historic relations and now is the time to go to the next step; towards stronger bilateral trade. The main reason we are coming to Sri Lanka is that you have very good gem processing technology – also we need your natural precious stones,” announced Trade and Export Promotion Center (TEPC) Member of Board of Directors and the leader of the visiting Nepali delegation Bikash R. Dhakwa on 29 October in Colombo.

Director Dhakwa was addressing the EDB top officials’ team led by EDB Chairman and CEO Bandula Egodage during his delegation’s visit to EDB on 29 October. The visiting 12 member business delegation from Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal was the largest ever Nepali business delegation to come to Sri Lanka in recent times. This was also the first ever such handicraft focused delegation to visit Sri Lanka from Nepal, with leading Nepali handicraft, gold, silver and metal crafts and other artisan entrepreneurs in it.
Several of the visiting businesses are also well-linked to the craft markets of India and Thailand. Notable among the Nepali reps were international jewellery designer Suman Dhakwa (Proprietor, Valhalla Enterprises) as well as Sanam Shakya (Executive Member, Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal and sole craft supplier to Dalai Lama).
Also present at the session EDB were EDB DG Sujatha Weerakoone, EDB ED Dr. Yousuf Maraikkar, EDB Director – Market Development Jeevani Siriwardena and other top officials.
“We warmly welcome one of the largest business teams from Nepal. Today’s meeting with your delegation could be considered as a preparatory meeting of our craft sector for Kathmandu SAARC sideline meeting as well,” said Egodage, addressing Director Dhakwa and the delegation, and added: “Relations between Sri Lanka and Nepal have been historic. The arrival of such a large team strengthens these on-going relations further and helps increase trade.”
As for bilateral trade, both countries remain promising virgin markets to each other. In 2013, Sri Lanka’s exports to Nepal stood at $ 5.07 million, a sudden 296% jump from 2012’s $ 1.2 million. Handicraft and jewellery exports to Nepal totalled $ 0.42 million in 2013. Sri Lanka’s top exports to Nepal in 2013 were printed books, newspapers and other printing products, pepper, fowls, electrical apparatus/switches, rubber tyres, and industrial machines.
Director Dhakwa responding said: “Sri Lanka and Nepal relations have been historic and now is the time to go to the next step-towards stronger bilateral trade. Both Nepali handicrafts and jewellery sector representatives are here. Unlike in Sri Lanka, jewellery, gold, silver and precious stone crafts are included as part of ‘handicrafts’ in Nepal. We have 22 different kinds of key crafts being exported to 60 countries. The main reason we are coming to Sri Lanka is that we believe that you have very good processing technology of precious and semi-precious stones here – that is stone cutting-as well as a strong manufacturing sector in them.
“Also we need your natural precious stones to be used in our jewelleries. Our jewellery producers have very good linkages with Thailand and India and these two markets are continuously fed by our artisans. Sri Lankan precious stones will help us to meet the increasing demand for high quality precious stones embedded crafts in these two markets. For Sri Lankan gem, silver and handicraft exporters, there are huge prospects in the $ 420 million Nepali gold, silver, jewellery and handicraft making industry which already employs two million workers. “These prospects are within Nepal and through Nepal to countries such as India and Thailand. Apart from SAARC meet, we also invite a Sri Lankan handicraft, silver and gold crafters team to the Nepali Handicraft Trade Fair held 20-24 November at the Bhrikuti Mandap Exhibition Hall in Kathmandu. We also suggest that it is time to renew direct air-links between Kathmandua and Colombo.”
“We are looking forward to meet you during SAARC meet,” said EDB’s Egodage, and added: “We are also planning to send a business delegation to Nepal in January.”
The previous Nepali delegation of this magnitude to visit Colombo was the business delegation organised by the Economic Forum of Nepal, way back in December 2003.

Two Lankans clinch global rubber glory

Daily FT - 30/10/2014

• Prof. Attanayaka and Lalan’s Hapangama win top awards at Global Rubber Conference

Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen hands over the GRC Wickham Award 2014 to Chairman, Lalan Rubbers Lalith Hapangama (left) and DPSTG Attanayaka (who collected on behalf of the winner Prof. DPSTG Attanayaka) on 28 October in Colombo. Chairman and CEO of EDB Bandula Egodage and Chairman Confexhub Sdn Bhd, Malaysia, Dr. Abdul Aziz (far right) were also present

Two Sri Lankans won GRC Wickham awards at the Global Rubber Conference 2014 (GRC) held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel on 28 October.

“At the next Global Rubber Conference, the knowledge received at today’s sessions should be reflected and evaluated. In such a background it is important for us to continuously review developments in all the closely related aspects and industries including the global economy and currencies as well,” said Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said while speaking at the conference.

The GRC drew more than 250 delegates from 28 countries, including ASEAN, US, EU, East Asian and North Asian nations, and concluded yesterday.

This is the fourth GRC to be held and the first to be staged in Sri Lanka.

The GRC Wickham Award for Technology Innovation 2014 was awarded to Prof. DPSTG Attanayaka, who is presently serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management of the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. He is also the Regional Secretary (Sri Lanka) of the Society for Advance Breeding Research in Asia and Oceania (SABRAO).

“During his career at the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, he contributed immensely to the natural rubber industry by improving productivity of rubber plantations. He also pioneered the incorporation of Molecular Breeding to rubber breeding and the selection program of the institute. He has more than 85 research articles to his credit,” the GRC organisers announced.

The GRC Wickham Award for Technology Commercialisation 2014 award was presented to Lalan Rubbers Chairman Lalith Hapangama.

“A pioneer in the rubber industry and a visionary entrepreneur, Hapangama is one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of disposable, surgical, household, industrial gloves, rubber bands and rubber mattresses to 48 countries with seven offshore offices in four continents. His operation is a vertically integrated company with rubber plantations across 17000 acres with two centrifugal facilities. “He was singlehandedly able to establish Sri Lanka as a formidable competitor in the global market especially for gloves, exporting to the most renowned supermarkets in the world and supplying to automotive, aircraft, chemical, electronic, food and construction industrial brands, with his ability to provide livelihood to 15000 families,” the organisers stated.

Minister Bathiudeen said: “Today’s conference sessions have given all of us much food for thought and there was productive opinion-sharing during the sessions. More importantly, we are pleased with the commitment and interest shown by the international participants. Let me stress that sectors such as transport, health, chemicals and heavy machinery need to be watched. Also we need to closely watch currency exchange rates.”

The GRC Wickham Award was established in commemoration of Sir Henry Wickham. Sir Wickham brought rubber seeds from the Amazon jungles to the UK in 1876 and thereby introduced rubber to the world for the first time.

Sri Lanka attends ICC Conference on Global Economic recovery in Dhaka

Asian Tribune - 31/10/2014

The Export Development Board of Sri Lanka led a trade delegation from Sri Lanka to participate at the International Chamber of Commerce Conference on Global Economic Recovery which was held in Dhaka on 25-26th October 2014.

On the sidelines of the Conference, nine Sri Lankan companies included in the delegation participated in two Business Match-Making sessions with the members of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) at two events on 27th October. The participating companies represented printed packaging products, garment and textile accessories, IT and education, food processing and electric cable sectors. The delegation also met with the senior officials of the Board of Investment of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

During their interactions with Bangladesh entrepreneurs, the members of the Sri Lankan business delegation expressed their keen interest to invest in suitable sectors of Bangladesh. Both sides agreed that despite sharing similar basket of export goods, there is a need to complement each other’s products than to compete against one another.

In addition to the Chamber interactions, the Export Development Board had organized separate Meeting sessions for the 12-member delegation with individual companies in collaboration with the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Bangladesh. The Mission had also organized an interaction for the visiting delegation with the Sri Lankan entrepreneurs already established in Bangladesh on the evening of 26th October.