Strengthening the country’s spice and allied products export sector is the next step of the Government to achieve a remarkable foreign exchange target of US$ 1500 million.
Primary Industries Minister Daya Gamage made these remarks at the 33rd AGM of the Spices and Allied Products Producers and Traders Association (SAPPTA) held in Colombo.
Highlighting the invaluable service rendered by the SAPPTA and all other stakeholders of the country’s spice and allied producers, Minister Gamage said Sri Lanka generates a massive foreign exchange from cinnamon and pepper even at present.
He said due to the sacrifice of cultivators cinnamon growers reap better harvest without spending a lot of money on fertilizer. Quoting statistics, Minister Gamage said cinnamon has become one of Sri Lanka’s leading exports and their next target was to manufacture value added products to achieve a remarkable export market.
“ Currently we export cinnamon to 13 countries and among them 52 percent is exported to Mexico,” he said.
Speaking further on cinnamon, the minister said even doctors have experimented that cinnamon and locally grown bitter gourd (Karawila) are used to manufacture a medicine to cure cancer. He also focused special attention towards large extent of bare lands and requested cultivators to grow valuable spices in such land considering that there will be a good local and foreign market to these products.
He said the SPPAP also to encourage cultivators to grow more spices without expecting the Government’s involvement.Talking about the country’s export income Minister Gamage said that the Government recorded a 38 percent export income in 2005 and that has come down to the position of 14 percent at present and requested all persons to encourage spice cultivators to go for a better target again.
The Minister also said the Government has also planned to develop the country’s spice industry by granting the cultivators with a low interest rate of 6.8 percent and the balance interest is borne by the government.He also mentioned that the Government has also planned to help at least 1,800 spice industrialists with the assistance of World bank.
While thanking the encouraging speech made by Minister Gamage, SAPPTA , Chairman Vernon Abeyratne said although land areas and quantities of spices are limited in the country, its products are of high quality. “Now we have to encourage value addition of our spices to achieve a higher value for our limited quantities of spices of high quality.”
He further said we have to increase our yield to meet the increasing world demand and promote plantation companies to utilize their unproductive lands for cultivation of other spices such as Cocoa, Garcinia, lemon, ginger, turmeric and cashew.
He also mentioned about the forthcoming annual session of the International Pepper Community (IPP) which will be held in Sri Lanka from October 30 to November 2 , 2017 at Earl’s Regency Hotel, Kandy.
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