By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The Ceylon Italy Blue Economy Association (CIBEA) today unveiled its pioneering strategy to contribute to decarbonising maritime transport in the Indian Ocean, with a steadfast commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

“Sri Lanka and Italy, both nations with rich maritime traditions, are uniquely positioned to lead the transition to a greener maritime future.

Our ultimate goal is to champion the development of a Hydrogen Value Chain in Sri Lanka, focusing on bunkering and transshipment of green fuels in the region and beyond, centred in Trincomalee Port, in collaboration with an Italian-led international consortium open to partnerships with local and global investors,” said CIBEA President and Hitechrome Ltd. Director Vittorio Coco.

Coco emphasized, “Sri Lanka’s strategic location along major shipping routes features the unparalleled deep-water natural port of Trincomalee, poised to become the central hub for green bunkering and the transshipment of green fuels across the entire Indian Ocean Rim.”

He added, “Italy, recognized as a global leader in clean energy technologies, has a rich history of successful industrial clusters, serving as a source of cutting-edge solutions in different sectors.

Italy’s expertise and innovation in EU-funded Hydrogen Valleys projects could be leveraged as a blueprint for similar initiatives in the field of hydrogen, methanol, and ammonia production in Sri Lanka.”

“In the face of the global climate crisis, the maritime industry has been identified as a significant contributor to carbon emissions from ships and ports.

Therefore, we envision the building of a Hydrogen Value Chain in Sri Lanka, mitigating GHGs (Greenhouse Gases) impact by developing the Port of Trincomalee as a Hub for Green Fuels Bunkering and Green Fuels Transshipment. Here is our suggested roadmap to the future developer of the project,” Coco explained.

CIBEA’s visionary approach to enlarge on a global scale this Road Map also involves the creation of a network of Green Corridors adopting Trincomalee Port as a vital node.

A Green Shipping Corridor is a dedicated and strategically planned route for maritime transportation, designed in collaboration with stakeholders such as shipping companies, port authorities, environmental organizations, certification organizations and governmental bodies.

This corridor prioritises the adoption of green technologies and practices, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of shipping activities.

It serves as a platform for collective efforts to create a more sustainable and eco-conscious pathway in the shipping industry, aligning with the interests and commitments of diverse stakeholders.

According to Coco, the primary focus of CIBEA is on establishing a green corridor linking Genoa, Italy, to Singapore via Port of Neom (Saudi Arabia), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) and Trincomalee, potentially partnering with world-renowned groups such as Lloyd’s Register and Bureau Veritas.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s tea industry has shown remarkable progress in 2023, witnessing significant improvements in production and exports this year despite the slight decline in October, Plantation ministry sources revealed .

In Jun-23, Sri Lanka produced 22,990 metric tons (mt) of tea, marking a 14% year-on-year (YoY) increase.

The recovery in Sri Lanka’s tea production can be attributed to higher fertilizer supplies, which boost yields in Sri Lanka’s key growing areas.

Moreover, India, another major tea-producing country, started the year with inadequate rainfall, severely reducing yields in the tea lands of North India and leading to rising production costs.

Consequently, buyers have turned their attention to Sri Lanka. It is anticipated that Sri Lanka will produce 270,000 mt of tea in 2023, exceeding last year’s 251,500 mt.

Sri Lanka’s rebound from the previous year’s setbacks is anticipated to continue, ensuring a good year for the tea sector and contributing to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery.

The tea sector in Sri Lanka has experienced growth in 2023, with improvements in production and export.

After facing challenges in the previous year, the country’s focus on enhancing tea production has started to yield positive results. In Jun-23, Sri Lanka produced 22,990 metric tons (mt) of tea, marking a 14% year-on-year (YoY) increase.

Overall, during the first six months of 2023, tea production slightly increased by 1% YoY, reaching 133,440 mt. The improvement in production in 2023 is mainly driven by higher production in High & Medium Grown teas, while Low Grown teas saw a marginal increase.

Sri Lanka’s tea exports fell 4.1 percent from a year ago to 18.2 million kilograms in October 2023, but rupee revenues went up to 354 billion rupees from 333 billion, industry data showed.

Up to October exports were down 5.6 percent to 199 million kilograms, a report by Ceylon Tea Brokers quoting Sri Lanka Tea Board data showed.

The US dollar value of exports were 1,083 million US dollars, marginally up from 1,061 million dollars.

Sri Lanka’s export tea prices which went up to 6.13 dollars on average in March was down to 5.25 dollars by October.

Iraq bought 28.09 million kilograms, down from 38.4 million a year ago. Turkey recovered to 25.5 million kilograms from last year’s 11.7 million kilos.

Russia was marginally down to 19.0 million from 20.6 million last year and UAE was 14.7 million down from 18.3 million last year.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s central bank has brought down its policy rate at which money is injected in to the banking system to 10 percent, and the lower corridor to 9 percent in a monetary policy meeting in November.

The Board viewed that with this reduction of policy interest rates, along with the monetary policy measures carried out since June 2023, sufficient monetary easing has been effected in order to stabilize inflation over the medium term,” the CB statement said.

“Hence, the Monetary Policy Board underscored the need for a swift and full passthrough of monetary easing measures to market interest rates, particularly lending rates, by the financial institutions, thereby accelerating the normalization of market interest rates in the period ahead.”

“The Board anticipates a swift, sizeable and broad-based reduction in overall market lending interest rates in line with the monetary policy easing measures effected since June 2023,” the statement said.

“Such adjustment in interest rates is imperative to ease the domestic monetary conditions further.

“The Board stressed the need for all licensed banks to take swift measures to reduce market lending interest rates to ensure that the benefits of the series of monetary policy easing measures are adequately passed on to businesses and households.”

Sri Lanka’s private credit has been slightly positive in recent months in October the central bank was still a net buyer in forex markets with broadly deflationary policy involving selling down its Treasuries stock to the banking system.

Policy rates enforced with inflationary open market operations amid a recovery in private credit in the past on the claim that inflation was low has led to renewed balance of payments deficits.

It has missed IMF reserve targets, currency depreciation which push up food and energy prices leading to the ouster of incumbent administrations, analysts have pointed out.

In January value added tax is to be hiked further, which can reduce pressure on the credit system though state salary hikes are kicking in from April.

Food inflation continued to be negative (year-on-year) for the fourth consecutive month in October 2023. The National Consumer Price Index (NCPI, 2021=100) based headline inflation (year-on-year) was recorded at 1.0 per cent in October 2023 compared to 0.8 per cent in September 2023.

Both CCPI and NCPI based core inflation (year-on-year), which reflects underlying demand pressures in the economy, moderated further in October 2023, reflecting the subdued demand pressures in the economy.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations are set to conclude next week and the accord will be signed in February next year, official sources said.,

A progressive tariff reduction roadmap for the Sri Lanka-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be enforced over a 15-year timeframe.

Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardana said that under this FTA, an impressive 80% of tariff lines will be liberalized over 15 years.

Sri Lanka and Thailand aim to sign the bilateral FTA on 3 February 2024 to coincide with the Independence Day celebrations of the former on 4 February after the completion of the rounds of discussions in this regard by December 2023.

“In line with the accords established during rounds six and seven aforementioned discussions, the Cabinet of Ministers has opted to endorse Sri Lanka’s customs levy releasing program,” he added.

The roadmap aims to facilitate the release of 80% of the combined categorized serial numbers within a 15-year timeframe, referencing the serial numbers from 2022.

In addition, it approves the partial release of 5% of the combined categorized serial numbers during the span of 15 to 18 years. The remaining 15% of the combined categorized serial numbers will be included in the negative list.

Chotima lemsawasdikul, director-general of the Thailand’s Trade Negotiations Department, said Thai and Sri Lankan officials are slated to meet Nov 27-29 this year for the eighth round of FTA talks, with Thailand hosting the discussions, the Bangkok Post reported.

The negotiations aim to reach a substantial conclusion, with another round of talks in December hosted by Sri Lanka, she said.

Despite Sri Lanka’s relatively small size and population of only 22 million, studies by the department found the country holds an important geographic position in the Indian Ocean, making it a hub for maritime transport, the report said.

The island also possesses an abundance of natural resources, such as precious minerals and seafood.

A Thailand-Sri Lanka FTA is projected to expand Thailand’s economy by 0.02%, equivalent to US$80 million. This includes the expansion of investments and the value of Thai exports to Sri Lanka, the Bangkok Post reports.

Products that could benefit from the pact include automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical appliances, metals, sugar and plastics, according to the department.

Industries in which Thailand could expand its investments in Sri Lanka include processed foods, beverages, textiles, garments and jewellery.

Two-way trade between Thailand and Sri Lanka amounted to $358 million in 2022, down 16.5% from 2021. Thailand exported goods worth $271 million to Sri Lanka and imported goods valued at $86.9 million.

In the first nine months of this year, two-way trade between Thailand and Sri Lanka tallied $285 million, up 1.79% year-on-year, with exports from Thailand worth roughly $188 million, a decrease of 12.4%, according to the Bangkok Post.