SLCBC recommends potential areas to explore via China-SL FTA
Monday, 30 September 2013 01:10
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By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
As the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to bring an array of business opportunities for both the nations, the Sri Lanka-China Business Council (SLCBC) highlighted this week, a number of areas which could be explored to make the best use of this initiative.
Speaking at the China-Sri Lanka business meeting last week, SLCBC President Navindra Abeysekara recommended the shifting of certain manufacturing process to Sri Lanka from China for value addition.
“With costs increasing in China, it might be an idea to shift parts of the manufacturing and value addition to Sri Lanka whilst continuing to make use of the warehousing in the Middle East,” said Abeysekara to the 36-member delegation led by Chinese Trade Development Bureau Vice Director General Jia Guoyong.
The delegation, the largest from China, arrived in Sri Lanka on 25 September 2013 to explore business opportunities.
Although Sri Lanka has ample raw material to manufacture glass, Abeysekara noted that the country’s glass manufacturing industry has a lot to learn from China. “With the proper investment and knowledge, Sri Lanka can be a world leader in this industry whilst linking its backward integration,” opined Abeysekara.
According to him, another prospective area could be in the export of plants and flowers to China. “The lands in the northern part of Sri Lanka consist of the most fertile soils. With the Northern Expressway project in the pipeline, this could be another potential category to look for yielding high returns,” said Abeysekara.
An interesting area to explore he said would also be the export of dairy products to China. Abeysekara justified his statement by saying that Sri Lanka can easily cater to this market since it has been in the production of milk for centuries without having faced any quality issues.
“Sri Lanka has also been manufacturing soaps, shampoos, toothpaste and detergents for decades and has always produced quality products for many multinational brands. For exports to China, this area has great potential since at this point it is noted that Chinese consumers are on the lookout for high quality personal care products,” he expressed.
Abeysekara highlighted that the import of knitted fabric, articles of apparel clothing and accessories in China are increasing steadily and this is another Sri Lanka can look to benefit from.
Abeysekera also used the event as a platform to promote the infrastructure development of the country. He said that with the development and completion Sri Lanka’s expressways and highways, especially the Northern Expressway, the Southern Expressway, The Outer Circular Highway, Colombo – Kandy alternative highway and the Eastern Expressway, the logistical issues with regard to transportation within Sri Lanka will be an issue of the past.
“The planned development in the port sector of Sri Lanka will ensure the country’s efficiency in shipping and logistics will be utilised to its fullest especially with the nation’s geographical advantage.”
He added that at the SLCBC would like to recognise the investment made by China Merchant Holdings, an associate committee member of the council, in the Colombo port. With an investment of $ 500 million, the capacity of the port is expected to be increased by 2.4 million TEU’s.
“The Sri Lanka-China FTA should take these new developments in infrastructure into consideration when looking at the import and export, and products and services. Our hope is that the said FTA will be a new generation FTA,” said Abeyekera.
