Rishad fights newest global exports challenge

Sri Lanka is now fighting on a new front to sustain its exports. ”Our producers and importers at the receiving ports are subjected to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements and as a result, our exports have become more challenging but we are not going to stay passive,” declared Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, on 15 March.

Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the Lanka Star Awards Ceremony organised by Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging (SLIP) at Hilton Colombo.  73 packaging industry awards, of which 18 were gold, and nine student awards, of which two were gold, were distributed at this glittering event which was facilitated by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The entries were judged on innovation, functionality, convenience, graphic appeal, appropriateness, environmental performance and overall impression.  Also present at the occasion were top officials including Anura Siriwardene, Secretary to Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

“We have been seeing more and more innovative packaging solutions that can be re-used for other purposes but post-consumer packaging is a big challenge we are faced with both in our domestic market as well as export markets. That is the issue of ‘garbage creation’ due to the packaging material. Therefore, improvements are needed in this regard. More importantly, international packaging requirements are impacting on our exports,” said Bathiudeen.

“Though high quality exports packaging is important for competitive international markets, many Lankan export items with cover packaging and non-recyclable packaging are now faced with increasing challenges abroad. This is due to the emerging concept of Extended Producer Responsibility which has been adopted by many developed countries. Since not only producers but also importers at the receiving ports are subjected to these EPR requirements, our exports have become more challenging. However we are not going to stay passive or quiet.”

He added: “Today, I am pleased to announce that we have taken a major step to address this EPR requirement which is affecting our exports efficiency. The National Cleaner Production Centre is starting a two year program called ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’ with our private sector and exporters at a cost of $ 10,000 to educate them on this international requirement. NCPC is also assisting us on a program called ‘Recovering Resources through Recycling’, working with the private sector, which has an overall value of $ 80,000 involving both bulk as well as retail packaging segments.”

Speaking on the Lankan packaging sector’s vital stats, Minister Bathiudeen said: “International estimates show that the global packaging industry is growing rapidly and will be worth around $ 820 billion by 2016. It is also a worldwide norm that a country’s packaging industry usually consists of 2% to 3% of its GDP. This shows that our packaging industry could be estimated at more than $ 1 billion, given that our GDP now surpasses $ 59 billion thanks to the development vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“Like in any other country, Sri Lanka’s packaging industry too is cross-cutting but we have identified that food and beverage sector is the leading segment followed by cosmetics. Our per capita packaging expenditure is lower than Asia’s US$ 10 per capita packaging value.”