Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Monday, 12 January 2015 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The priority
The European Union (EU) export ban of fisheries products from Sri Lanka comes into effect this week, to be specific 15 January 2015. We understand that little has been done to correct this situation over the weeks since the ban was announced as the elections had taken the focus away from policy. It is understood from industry sources that the failure was due to a pure administrative mishandling as the needed corrections were notified to Sri Lanka as far as November 2012 by the EU.
The Academy learns that the industry and 1 million people would be directly and indirectly affected and social consequences of such a ban would be serious.
The new government has to take fast action to get a reasonable grace period and time to meet the conditions stipulated and hence need to lobby with EU for an extension before action is taken against the Sri Lankan industry. There’s hardly any time for this, hence it is priority.
Market access
The last regime was in the process of finalising the China Sri Lanka free trade agreement, which we have pointed out would help make Sri Lanka a regional trading hub and would expand trade. This needs to be taken forward fast. However, we also need to re-establish greater market access to Europe and the US as these markets still have great potential for our export
products and to diversify further. After all close to 70% of our exports are to EU and US as at today.
Sri Lanka needs to establish a level playing field with some of our competing countries to gain reasonable market access on multiple fronts in the west and the rest of the world if our export industry needs to be enhanced.
Eliminating trade barriers, working towards GSP+ or better arrangements, greater market access to US, correcting gaps and the defaults with Indo-Sri Lanka trade agreements are among few medium term action we need to work towards to get the export industry expansion and achieve the targets set by the industry.
These tools can help our products compete better and attract other regional manufacturers to set up operations in Sri Lanka to take the logistical advantage we have as a nation, which is a key component of today’s global business thus enhancing export revenues and job creation through the manufacturing industry as envisaged by the new leaders.
Cross section of the export institutions need major reforms and new initiatives to promote exports, have to be taken. The BOI, EDB, DOC need to be further strengthened to achieve these goals. The reforms that were initiated at the Customs together with the industry must be continued without even any short term disruptions.
The Shippers’ Academy Colombo firmly believes that enhancing export revenue is the best way to achieve stable economic growth in the long run and is confident that the new administration will take these few observations and concerns seriously and take immediate needed actions and steps to resolve the matters on a priority basis to give the confidence and the boost needed by our export industry.
(The writer is the CEO of Shippers’ Academy Colombo, an economics graduate from the Connecticut State University USA, and immediate past secretary general of the Asian Shippers’ Council.)
