REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPORT

Traditionally Sri Lanka has been exporting rubber as a commodity since rubber plantations came in to existence approximately 125 years ago. It was the pioneering efforts of Associated Motorways Ltd., and Richard Pieris & Co. Ltd., which saw the beginning of using rubber as a raw material for the manufacture of rubber based products. In the 1980's and the 1990's, there was a rapid growth in the manufacture of rubber-based products, mainly for the export markets. Today we are at a position where 60-70% of the rubber produced in Sri Lanka is converted to finished products within Sri Lanka and a majority of these products are exported.

When thinking of starting a business of exporting rubber-based products, the following factors will determine the approach:

You already have a business manufacturing rubber-based product (s) and are now looking for export markets.
You want to start a business of manufacturing rubber based product (s) and need to decide what type of product you need to get in to and find a market for it.

As in any business, the market is the starting point. In the case of exports, the market is remote and quite often difficult to access. A broad classification of factors that differentiate an export market from the home market is listed below: