Sri Lanka must cross Rs. 9 trillion in exports in 2011

Nontariff barriers in India further relaxed

Industry and Commerce Minister Rishard Bathiudeen addressing the visiting Indian business delegation at the Ministry premises announced that Sri Lanka had crossed the US$ 8 billion mark last year, with some sharp strategies that had been conceptualised by a joint private-public partnership.

He noted that 2011 would see Sri Lanka crossing the Rs. 9,000 billion mark and invited the Indian business delegation to be part of Sri Lanka’s strong growth agenda.

The Minister said the apparel industry had continued to perform even without the GSP+ facility, due to the strong leadership shown by the private sector in infusing cutting edge innovation, followed by some sharp cost-cutting strategies, which have enabled the industry to differentiate Sri Lankan merchandise against its arch rivals like China and Bangladesh.

The Indian delegation commended the Minister on the sharp strategies that have been driven in the tea sector of Sri Lanka, when he explained how the tea industry had crossed the Rs. 1.5 billion mark with the clear ‘Ozone Friendly Tea’ proposition on which Sri Lanka has taken the high ground, to add further value into the quality tea that Sri Lanka produces, which command the highest prices at any auction in the world.

The Indian delegation consists of businesses in the food and beverage, construction, paper and chemical businesses. The Minister invited the delegation to forward a set of proposals to the Ministry by 1 March so that he can personally get involved in allocating space in the industrial zones and even negotiate with other ministries to allocate lands for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables in the country, albeit with a strong partnership with a Sri Lankan company.

The Minister also informed that certain barriers to doing business in India like quality checking of Sri Lankan tea being able to be done in Chennai itself was a welcome move that further strengthened trade under the Indo-Lanka trade agreement.

“Sri Lanka’s tea exporters must now use these speedy procedures and drive trade with India,” said the Minister, who had been personally responsible for investing almost Rs. 7 million on the pesticide residue experiments of Ceylon Tea to ensure Sri Lanka maintains the ‘Clean Tea’ proposition.

Separately the Ministry of Industry in partnership with the Sri Lanka Tea Board is funding the GI registration of the Ceylon Tea brand across the key countries that Sri Lanka operates in, to further strengthen trade for Sri Lanka.