MIT Cargo (Pvt) Ltd, the exclusive agent in Sri Lanka for global supply chain solutions giant Panalpina, recently conducted a breakfast forum and panel discussion with key industry stakeholders focusing on the development of the perishable (fruit and vegetable) industry in Sri Lanka.
The forum themed ‘Let’s Talk Perishables’ was a collective of industry experts who shared their knowledge and expertise in relation to revitalizing the Sri Lankan perishables market.
MIT cargo also engaged the global head of Perishables for Panalpina, Colin Wells, who visited Sri Lanka with the main intension of sharing his insights on this highly sensitive sector.
During the session Wells shared his views on how Sri Lanka can better position the country’s perishables in the global arena and how all stakeholders must work in tandem to achieve that. This gave a rare opportunity for all concerned parties to openly discuss and exchange ideas on a common platform with the shared purpose of improving the Sri Lankan agriculture sector with emphasis on export agriculture, a sector which has seen a downturn in recent years.
The panel of experts who graced the occasion consisted of Colin Wells - Global Head of Specialty Vertical Perishables of Panalpina, Gayani Wijayathilake - Assistant Director Export Agriculture Division of the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka, Chamara Ranasinghe - Head of Cargo - Sri Lankan Airlines, Dr. Rohan Wijekoon – Director - Agriculture Modernization Project, Representatives of the Lanka Fruit and Vegetable Producers, Processors and Exporters Association, S. Gnanaskandan – Director - Eastern & Allied Agencies (Pvt) Ltd and Harsha Karunaratna – Director - Transgrow (Pvt) Ltd. and was moderated by Prasanna Hettiararchi – Founder and Managing Director of Saraketha Organics.
The panelists shared insights on growing global trends such as consumer ethics and increasing demand in natural/convenient food products and went on to discuss concerns on the vulnerability of Sri Lankan perishables due to production limitations coupled with the wide variety of products, seasonal fluctuations, infrastructure development potential of Sri Lanka, post-harvest loss prevention strategies and their effect on the value chain amongst many other topics.
The forum also emphasized on the vulnerabilities Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector would face, if the country was to continue to operate in silos with short-term plans.
The panelists also shared their views on utilizing their individual specialties in working towards the common purpose of establishing Sri Lanka as a globally recognized supplier of perishables.
With an extensive focus on the global perishables industry, Panalpina has chosen Sri Lanka from 160+ representative countries, under its Panalpina Perishable Network to support and develop the agriculture industry in Sri Lanka.
The Panalpina Group is one of the world’s leading providers of supply chain solutions, headquartered in Switzerland.
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