Sri Lanka’s second global brand born

• Pure Ceylon Cinnamon secured in Eurozone
• Rishad commends EDB and pushes for coveted US market

Sri Lanka has successfully secured the coveted rights for the Pure Ceylon Cinnamon brand name in the EU market.

“Thanks to the efforts of the Export Development Board, I am pleased to announce that we have successfully secured the Pure Ceylon Cinnamon trade mark in the EU market. I am also happy to see that we now have two global brands after us, the first being the well-known Pure Ceylon Tea,” announced an upbeat Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday.

Bathiudeen announced this in the aftermath of the Review Meeting he held with the EDB, which falls under his Ministry. During the in-depth review meeting, Bathiudeen explored national export performance and expected trends with the EDB team, led by EDB Chairman/CEO Janaka Ratnayake.

The meeting also witnessed Minister Bathiudeen’s new Secretary Anura Siriwardena taking part in his first official meeting with his Minister as well as his new Ministry.

During the meeting, Ratnayake apprised Bathiudeen that the EDB had successfully secured the Pure Ceylon Cinnamon brand name in the EU market.

Pure Ceylon Cinnamon was officially unveiled by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential Export Awards in June 2011, while Minister Bathiudeen officially unveiled Pure Ceylon Cinnamon to the world at the Anuga Trade Fair in Cologne, Germany in October 2011, and announced that the Pure Ceylon Cinnamon trademark would be registered in the USA, which is the major market for cinnamon, and also in the European Union.

The cinnamon industry in Sri Lanka brought $ 833 m in exports in 2010 (growing by 8.59% in comparison to 2010 exports) and is billed to play a key role in the country’s ambitious export target of $ 20 b by 2020. Sri Lanka is the largest producer of cinnamon in the world – claiming 70% of world production.

Pure Ceylon Cinnamon’s main markets are the USA, Mexico, Peru and Ecuador. Around 31,000 hectares of cinnamon are grown in the country producing 16,000 tons annually, of which 13,000 are exported. The industry employs 16,000 peelers involving 260,000 families, but is in need of many more peelers to sustain it over the long term.

“While I commend the EDB for this achievement, I believe that we should also secure our trademark in the next coveted market, the US,” Bathiudeen added.