SL wants direct trading with Iraq

• Govt. wants while in transit adulteration of Lanka tea stopped, keen on Iraq-Sri Lanka trading centre in Baghdad

Industry and Commerce Minister Rishard Bathiudeen believes that direct trading with Iraq will increase Lankan exports and prevent transit adulteration.  

With this in mind he reiterated his keenness on the proposed Iraq-Sri Lanka trading centre in Baghdad. Bathiudeen expressed his interest when he met Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to Sri Lanka and Maldives Kahtan Taha Khalaf on Tuesday at the Ministry offices located at Colombo 3, according to a statement released by his Ministry.



Until 1990 Sri Lanka was the major supplier of tea with Iraq supplying 65% of the total annual intake of tea by Iraq. Currently, more than 90% of Sri Lanka exports to Iraq consist of tea but the Sri Lanka- Iraq tea trade is beset by allegations by some tea export companies about adulteration and mislabelling at transhipment points while on its way to Iraq.

Both Iraq and Sri Lanka now believe that establishing direct Sri Lanka tea export channel to Iraq and also launching a Sri Lanka trading centre in Baghdad to sell Sri Lanka products will help solve these nagging issues while promoting trade cooperation as well.

“I believe that three issues could be directly addressed by the proposed trading centre. First issue is the Iraqi market’s yearning for high quality Ceylon tea, secondly the issue of Iraqi consumers receiving low quality tea instead of the high quality tea sent from Colombo, third, the issue of falling tea export revenues from Iraqi for our tea export firms,” the Minister said.

Also present with the Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to Sri Lanka Kahtan Taha Khalaf were Ahmed Abdulaali Al-Rikabi (Asst. Commercial Attache, Embassy of Iraq in Colombo) and First Secretary of Embassy of Iraq in Colombo Yassir K. Chassab.