The Canned Fish Manufacturers Association of Sri Lanka at a press briefing held in Colombo last week, called for immediate government intervention to rivive the local industry which has entered a critical juncture.
President, Canned Fish Manufacturers Association of Sri Lanka, Shiran Fernando speaking to the media, urged the government to act swiftly to remedy their woes by implementing the following minimum requirements of limiting imports of foreign canned fish, purchasing local canned fish for government institutions, armed forces, re-introducing the import tax on foreign canned fish to previous levels of Rs102 and re-introducing the Rs 20 concession per tin offered by the Sathosa soon, to prevent an imminent collapse of the industry which would have an immediate bearing on the livelihood of nearly a million people who depend on the industry.
Fernando said the local canned fish industry is capable of supplying the total requirements of the country, if the government fulfills their requirements and even look at the export market to become not only a foreign exchange saving industry, but a foreign exchange earning industry as well. The local canned fish industry saves the country US $ 64 million, by engaging in production annually.
Fernando said that due to the import process being eased on foreign canned fish, there has been an influx of canned fish from overseas in the past few months and these have been dumped in the market for low prices. As a result, local fish producers are unable to compete with these imported canned fish. He said during the past seven months they had purchased over Rs 170 million worth fish from local fishermen and now they were unable sell their products.
“We have five local factories, but they are not functioning to its fullest capacity due to issues in the supply chain and unfair competition imported canned fish products. We request the government to carefully consider the production capacity and stock of imports to the country prior to allowing unwanted imports. This would encourage local producers and in turn will enable the country to save valuable foreign exchange,” Secretary, Canned Fish Manufactures Association Kamal Addara Arachchi said.
As one of the development indicators being the GDP growth, import would not support this growth and we need to promote local industries. Sri Lanka which has a sea area of 10 times more than Thailand, could not reach the level of that country with regard to canned fish exports. Therefore, the country has the potential, capacity and capability to become a leading player in this market, as Sri Lanka is surrounded by the sea and there are plenty of fish available right throughout the year, he said.
“Our canned fish is fresh, safe and of high quality. When there is a bumper harvest, we need to preserve fish and canned fish is the ideal solution. However, the local canned fish industry is not given the necessary encouragement to fuel the growth and for further expansion.
This industry also supports the fishing industry and any improvement in the canned fish industry is positively impact with the country’s fishing industry, he said. There are 600,000 fishing communities in the country. For canned fish production they had been paid Rs. 170 million for the purchase of Salmon (Linna) fish, while a kilo has fetched in Rs. 175 during the past few months enabling them to earn a decent living. However this had to be stopped due to the haphazard imports of salmon tins to the country during the last few months, he alleged.
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