Ceylon Handlooms brand born as work begins on sector’s new roadmap

The National Level Task Force (NLTF) formed on a high priority basis on 22 December by a top Minister for the development of Sri Lanka’s handloom sector started work on 10 January on the loom industry’s future roadmap as previously scheduled.

The new national level project is expected to deliver value and professional structure to Sri Lanka’s $ 13 m and growing handlooms sector.

“This effort will bring in Ceylon Handlooms brand to the international markets and will also upgrade and modernise in order to attract more youth to the industry to sustain its long term course. More importantly, this is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce with various stakeholders such as the private, cooperative and provincial council level industries and the Universities,” announced Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen on 10 January at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce at Colombo 3.

Minister Bathiudeen announced this in the immediate aftermath of the in-depth follow-up discussion and presentations held on 10 January after the pioneering meet of the high level taskforce on 22 December at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

During the 10 January sessions, representatives from the USAID, National Entrepreneurs Development Authority (NEDA), University of Moratuwa, Export Development Board, Department of Textiles, Sri Lanka Institute of Textile & Apparel and reps from private sector handloom manufacturers, started work on the future industry roadmap of the promising Sri Lankan handlooms sector.

The stakeholders present reached consensus on the need for branding of country’s handlooms based on its unique identity characteristics and also on the needs of high end international niches.

“We want to become the most sought after destination for niche handloom products,” Minister Bathiudeen said.

The ‘Ceylon Handlooms’ brand-name came in for favourable attention from the stakeholders and Minister Bathiudeen. Currently, the country’s handlooms, in addition to the domestic market, are absorbed by Italy, Maldives, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Netherlands and Norway.

According to the Export Development Board (EDB) under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, handloom exports valued $ 0.90 m in 2009 rose in 2010 to $ 1.5 m and in January-October 2011 stood at $ 1.17 m. EDB expects the handloom exports to hit $ 2.24 m in 2015. The handloom textile export target for 2011 set by the EDB under the Ministry of Industries is US $ 1.29 million (Rs. 146 million).

Sri Lanka’s handloom sector is one of the low cost but high earning industries. Its annual production exceeds six million metres of looms with an estimated annual production value of Rs. 1,500 m ($ 13.19 m), all of which are absorbed by both local and international demand.

The production is labour intensive and the industry consumes less electricity and utilities while generating higher employment. At present, there are 511 weaving centres with 2,971 weavers and more than 10,000 looms in Sri Lanka assisted by 22 dying houses. More than 10,000 personnel are engaged in the handloom industry.

According to NEDA, there are 919 private sector handloom operators, of which 536 are based in the east, operating 2454 looms. In the cooperative sector, 925 handlooms in 110 centres and under the Provincial Councils there are 5,169 handlooms in 511 centres.

The key Lankan provinces for handlooms are the Wayamba, Western, and Central Provinces. The eastern regions of Sri Lanka too were reputed for handlooms but the 2004 tsunami disaster inflicted damage on eastern production; despite this, eastern handlooms continue to command buyer appeal.

A SWOT analysis of the Sri Lanka handlooms showed that the all items listed in the ‘weaknesses’ quadrant are addressable and can be solved. The stakeholders present and Minister Bathiudeen agreed that a comprehensive value chain development analysis should be carried out for the handloom sector to prepare the development action plan for the sector.

The new handloom roadmap as envisaged on 10 January session envisions more clearly-defined handloom responsibilities between the Central Government and the Provincial Councils. It also envisions increasing of looms from its current 10,000 to 15,000 in the next five years and generating 7,000 new jobs and the establishment of a National Handloom Monitoring Committee to coordinate the overall handloom industry.

Identifying the shortcomings present in the three types of suppliers – the cooperatives, the private sector and provincial council driven loom centres – it envisions the formation of a Private-Public Partnership model involving all three groups.

To overcome low wages, it proposes performance based incentives (based on a number of criteria) for designers and weavers. It also affords high priority for modernisation and introducing IT and networking infrastructure so that information on latest market prices and design trends are readily available to the producers, even if they are rural based micro/cottage level.

The Task Force also readily agreed with the suggestion of Haoua Cheick, the visiting USAID/VEGA Expert, who announced: “For international markets, it is essential that Ceylon Handlooms be certified at this end as ‘Handlooms’ before shipping so that it is accredited for its origin and quality.”

Secretary to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Tilak Collure, addressing the gathering, stressed: “We cannot ignore the statistics and data needs pertaining to this industry if we want to develop it from its current stage. Not only should such data should be made available to the producers, but data from producers too should be made available to the ministries and the proposed National Handloom Monitoring Committee as well as stakeholders.”

Collure added: “I am pleased that we have been able to identify most of the relevant issues to the industry today and we at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce take due note of all the issues highlighted.”