By changing people's attitude to 'Be Sri Lankan buy Sri Lanka' products, Sri Lanka could get self-sufficient in local canned fish and save the country Rs 15 billion in foreign exchange annually, asserted Shiran Fernando, CEO/Director Tess Group of Companies addressing media in Colombo yesterday.
Fernando said that unlike other industries, canned fish industry is one of the few industries which has direct impacts to all the macroeconomic objectives of the country and the government must curb or limit canned fish imports to the country with duty adjustments. That will give space for local manufacturers to utilize their available capacities and use local raw fish by paying higher prices in the short to medium term. This would help in the industry becoming matured enough to compete in the export markets and make adequate supply of nutrition to local consumers as well, he opined. Fernando said this was in the background where Sri Lanka lagged behind WHO's requirement of an intake of 60 grams of fish per day to prevent malnutrition. The current intake of Sri Lankans was 40 grams per day, he said.
The local canned fish industry has developed in the past two years and the Tess group produces 75,000 tins per day. The daily consumptions of canned fish in Sri Lanka stand around 125,000 to 130,000 tins per day.
The Tess group was prepared to double its production to cater to the needs of the local market but the government and public must also assist them in that endeavour by changing their attitude to 'Be Sri Lankan buy Sri Lanka products, he said.
Fernando said the directive by the government to Lak Sathosa to purchase and sell local canned fish was a step in the right direction which is applauded. The CEO requested the government to also help local canned food manufactures by making the same directive to the armed forces to purchase local canned fish which would further help their cause.
A lot of attention is given to tourism because it brings in foreign currency, however much more attention needs to be given to the canned fish industry which is a 100% value added local product. For this the people must be encouraged to buy Sri Lankan products and that way of thinking must be cultivated in the minds of Sri Lankan consumers.
Similarly much focus must be given to get maximum use from the rich sea that surrounds Sri Lanka and fishermen. Thailand despite having a Exclusive Economic Zone of only 316,000 sq km against 517,000 sq km of Sri Lanka, processes almost one-quarter of the world's canned tuna fish today. This was as a result of generous incentives given to the manufactures in the early stages of the development of the Thailand canned fish industry.
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