The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), in association with the Import Promotion Desk (IPD), Germany has taken measures to build one to one contacts with buyers in Europe.

It has successfully concluded a series of initiatives that nurtured a new set of exporters to the nation’s economy.

Since 2018, the EDB with the assistance of the IPD undertook a wide range of activities to open market access in the European Union (EU) for enterprises involved in the sector of natural ingredients in Sri Lanka.

The selected enterprises were given exposure in areas such as Market Intelligence, capacity building, knowledge on import standards and conformity requirements to enter the market. Participation at International Trade Fairs, etc during the 4-year programme.

The beneficiaries had the opportunity of taking part in premier food and beverage exhibitions such as BIOFACH, SIAL, Food Ingredients Europe, and ANUGA under this assistance scheme.

The participant enterprises under this programme were: Woga Naturals Pvt Ltd Waguruwela Oil Mills Pvt Ltd, Lihini Nature Products Pvt Ltd, Pasanka Pvt Ltd, Asian Agro Products Pvt Ltd, and Manchiee De Coco Pvt Ltd.

The selected entities export a range of agricultural products such as coconut-related products, spices, dehydrated fruits, canned jackfruit, herbs, ingredients for tea, etc.

The beneficiary exporters represent all regions of the country including the Southern, Central, and the North-Western provinces. The participant enterprises have obtained certification pre-requisites such as ISO, ORGANIC, HACCP in order to be eligible for market access in the EU.

To mark the successful completion of this worthwhile programme, a ceremony was held to hand over certificates to the participant companies on 9th December at the EDB under the patronage of EDB Chairman Suresh D de Mel.

Furthermore, seven (7) EDB officers who were trained in EU Market Entry requirements were given certificates of recognition.

Expressing her views at the occasion, EDB Director General Malani Baddegamage pointed out that the EDB has come a long way with the IPD since 2018, the success of the work done together is reflected through these many export companies who entered the EU market.

She added that it takes a certain amount of time for companies to become export-ready and the commitment of companies to build capacities and fulfil Prerequisites to become exporter is essential.

Angie Martinez – Expert Sourcing and Purchasing – IPD, observed at the event. She noted that the IPD-EDB joint initiative was able to create the next generation of exporters in Sri Lanka.

Jacob Fernando, Manager – Planning & Certifications – Asian Agro Products (Pvt) Ltd, mentioned that their company was able to gain a thorough experience in sales coaching, trade fair participation, creating a professional website, sending personalized emails, and customer follow-ups through the IPD assistance.

Asian Agro Products is a company involved in the production of Dessicated Coconuts and one of the few BRC-certified entities in Sri Lanka. Since joining the IPD programme, the firm has been able to obtain export orders from Germany, Spain, and Poland.

“We are extremely pleased to create a knowledge-exchange platform by training EDB officers on EU market-entry requirement and hope that the trained EDB officers would share the knowledge they gained with their colleagues and the wider exporter community in Sri Lanka”, Linda Menze,

IPD- Germany, promotes the establishment of durable, long-term trade relations between importers and tour operators in Germany and Europe and companies from selected partner countries.

Over nine million people, or more than 40 percent of Sri Lanka’s 21.6 milion population, have slipped into the official poverty line due to the country’s unending economic crisis, a recent report released by a reputed UN international organisation has found.

The steepest rise in poverty levels took place after January this year, the report revealed adding that this was a very serious situation in the country,”as poorer households were the hardest hit owing to food inflation, job losses, limited fertilizer supply and drop in remittances.

According to another survey conducted by Peradeniya University, the latest changes in the tax structure – increased direct and indirect taxes – have only exacerbated the situation, affecting innumerable middle-income families and sparking murmurs of more mass discontent in Sri Lanka.

Four in every 10 households in Sri Lanka experienced a reduction in their incomes from June to December 2022, and one in every two households are currently relying on negative coping mechanisms to cope with the lack of food or money to buy it, a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA) report said.

In its response overview for the period of June to December 2022, the United Nations agency said the window of opportunity to support Sri Lankan farmers and their communities is narrowly time-bound.

“Immediate action to provide farmers with quality seeds, fertilizers and pesticides will enable them to protect their livelihoods and feed their communities. It is also critical to provide the most vulnerable farmers, livestock keepers and fishers with cash assistance to enable them to restore their productive assets and fast-track their recovery,” the report said.

Noting Sri Lanka is witnessing an unprecedented currency crisis, and the situation is exacerbated by political and social turmoil, the FAO report said nearly 40 percent of the population of Sri Lanka depend on agriculture as a primary source of income.

The ongoing multidimensional crisis is posing an enormous threat to their livelihoods and disrupting the national food system, it said.

Agricultural production is in a downward trend since mid-2021 due to the unavailability of fertilizers and other essential production inputs; livestock keepers are unable to access feed and basic veterinary supplies; and fishers are unable to access fuel for motorized boats.

“Consequently, the supply of food in local markets is shrinking and food inflation is soaring, reaching 90 percent in July 2022,” the report added.

Sri Lanka’s collapsing currency has pushed up the price of foods by close to 100 percent over two years with salaries not keeping pace, making it difficult for the less affluent in particular to afford basic carbohydrates and more affluent people being deprived of access to protein.

In Sri Lanka it typically takes about two years to recover from a currency crisis and real salaries to recover somewhat, analysts say.

Sri Lanka has not fully emerged from the currency crises with money still being printed in smaller volumes and a surrender requirement in place, which also creates money and alters rupee reserves of individual banks helping maintain forex shortages.

The forex shortages as well as central bank trade restrictions make it difficult to import some foods and agricultural inputs.