2015-02-13
Fifty Sri Lankan companies participated at the Gulfood 2015 in Dubai from 8-12 February displaying food and beverage products such as tea, spices, processed food, soft drinks, biscuits, virgin coconut oil, dried fruit, herbal products, etc.
2015-02-02
The seventh edition of Footwear and Leather Fair Exhibition organized by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in association with Sri Lanka Export Development Board will be held from February, 6 - 8, 2015 at Sirimavo Bandaranaike Exhibition Centre –BMICH.
2014-08-14
The Plastic and Rubber Institute of Sri Lanka CEO Forum recently mooted ideas for improving plastic and rubber industries in Sri Lanka.
While quality adding has been long discussed topic of improvement, it was discussed that branding Sri Lankan rubber will give Sri Lankan rubber a significant boost.
Chairman and CEO of the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka, Bandula Egodage, who attended the event said rubber is one of the chief exports in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka's rank in the contribution of rubber exported globally is 32% . However, he also said Sri Lanka's solid tyres rank at the first place in exports, which is a clear indication that there is a market for value added goods rather than just the raw form.
2014-08-12
The North Western Provincial office of the SLEDB, successfully conducted the awareness seminar/workshop on Ornamental Fish for the export Market on 12th August 2014 in the auditorium of District Secretariat-Kurunegala with the participation of 110 export oriented Ornamental Fish farmers in North Western & North Central Provinces. The programme was organized by the NWP-EDB with the assistance of National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA).
The main objective of conducting this programme is to increase the capacity of export oriented ornamental fish farmers in the region by way of enhancing Technical/Market awareness and facilitating linkages between farmers and exporters in order to develop consolidated supply base of quality ornamental fish for exports.
2014-08-07
Relations between Vietnam and Sri Lanka are fast developing, and two-way trade between the countries has grown by nearly 100 percent during the last three years, Vietnamese Ambassador to Colombo Ton Sinh Thanh said.
He added the two-way trade over the past three years has been increasing by around 30 percent per year, the highest rate among Vietnam's trade with other South Asian countries. He made these revelation at the opening of the first-ever Sri Lanka Vietnam business center in Kelaniya, a venture promoted by the APL Group of Companies. Ambassador Thanh identified the new center as an important landmark in the economic relations between the two countries.
2014-08-06
FACETS Sri Lanka 2014, the prestigious International Gem and Jewellery Show that showcases hundreds of local and foreign exhibitors, will be held from 4th - 7th September at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre.
This year’s exhibition will comprise over 150 booths with a variety of Gem and Jewellery that include precious and semiprecious gems.
2014-07-29
Sri Lanka has been selected to host one of the world’s leading conferences on natural rubber Global Rubber Conference (GRC) 2014.
The three-day international event will be held from 27 to 30 October 2014 at the Cinnamon Grand in Colombo.
Global Rubber Conference 2014 themed “Sowing the Seeds for Sustainable Future” is expected to bring together over 700 experts and delegates representing over 25 countries.
2014-07-23
In 2001, economist Jim O’Neill famously coined the term ‘BRIC’ to refer to the newly emerging economies of Brazil, Russian, India, and China. In 2014 O’Neill has now popularized a newer and what the BBC calls ‘fresher’ term – MINT – Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey (put forward by Fidelity Investments).
In a time where many developed nations are facing a crisis with regard to their ageing population, what makes MINT stand out, according to O’Neill, are their favourable demographic statistics. Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey are four of the world’s most heavily populated emerging economies, with populations of 118, 237, 174 and 73 million respectively. To add to that in the next 20 years all four countries will see a rise in the number of economically active workers to inactive - meaning they will have a declining dependency ratio. What this will do is ease the burden off the government. In recent years an increasing dependency ratio has plagued countries from the UK to Japan, putting pressure on government budgets and the shrinking work force. Thus the demographics of MINT will certainly be a source of envy for their more developed counterparts.
2014-07-01
The EDB recently held a workshop in Batticaloa to introduce the Fair Trade Concept to the Craft sector in the Eastern Province. The workshop was attended by around 40 participants representing giftware, lifestyle and handloom products. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Paul Myers, Expert on Fair Trade from U.S.A and there was a lot of interest shown by the companies /individuals present.
2014-06-25
The North Western Provincial office of the SLEDB, successfully conducted the awareness seminar/workshop on Cut foliage & flowers for the export Market on 20th June 2014 in the auditorium of District Secretariat-Kurunegala with the participation of 102 Cut foliage & Flowers out growers in North Western Province. The programme was organized by NWP-EDB with the assistance of Department of Agriculture.
The main objective of conducting this seminar was to increase the capacity of export oriented cut foliage out growers in the Province by way of enhancing Technical/Market awareness and facilitating linkages between out growers and exporters in order to develop consolidated supply base of quality Cut foliage & flowers for exports from Regions.
2013-12-05
The exports of garments from the island nation of Sri Lanka to its major export destinations of the EU and the US recorded a remarkable growth of 30.7 percent year-on-year and 32.2 percent year-on-year, respectively, in September 2013, according to a press release issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The sharp growth in Sri Lankan apparel exports to the EU and the US reflect the recovery in those economies, the statement said.
Sri Lanka’s textiles and garment sector as a whole posted a significant growth of 27.7 percent year-on-year during the month to register US$ 386.9 million, according to the Central Bank data.
From January to September 2013, Sri Lanka’s total textiles and apparel exports stood at US$ 3.126 billion, showing a rise of 5.2 percent over exports of US$ 2.972 billion made during the corresponding period of last year.
2013-11-19
The demand for value added cinnamon products such as cinnamon leaf oil, bark oil, crushed cinnamon and ground cinnamon for confectionery and other food related industries has increased in the world. Sri Lanka is planning to double cinnamon export earnings by increasing value addition of cinnamon.
Sri Lanka is the largest supplier of cinnamon exports to the world spice market, producing about 85% of international output. However, Sri Lanka ranks well below in value added cinnamon exports to the world market. Other competitor countries make huge profits by adding value to cinnamon exported from Sri Lanka, while Sri Lanka is losing profit due to exporting more raw cinnamon.
2013-11-08
Sri Lanka’s total export revenue is expected to reach US$ 11 billion mark by the end of this year, Export Development Board Chairman and CEO Bandula Egodage said
-“This is not an easy task, but we hope to reach the $ 11 billion export revenue mark by end of this year. As of September our total export value for 2013 is recorded at US$ 7314 million, which is a 1.07% increase in comparison to the same period in 2012. Our exports are now gradually strengthening despite the international market challenges. We have also set an export target of US$ 15 billion by 2015 and $ 20 billion by 2020. Apparel and tea exports currently account for over 40% and 20% of total exports from Sri Lanka respectively.
2013-09-28
Chinese firms are planning to buy activated carbon and rubber from Sri Lanka following the visit of a trade delegation and others are in talks over minerals and logistics services, the island's trade ministry said.
We have identified one Lankan partner firm for trading in activated carbon, An Qi Fu, international business manager of CITIC International, a Chinese state firm, was quoted as saying in a statement.
2013-09-19
I thank the Exporters' Association of Sri Lanka for inviting me to the AGM and giving me the opportunity to address this distinguished gathering of members.
The Exporters Association which represents about 80% of exporters in the country is the foremost body for exporters in Sri Lanka. We highly appreciate the contribution of Association towards the export development effort of the country.
The Government's vision as envisaged in the 'Mahinda Chintana' is to transform Sri Lanka into a strategically important economic centre of the world. This would then lead to socio economic development of the country. The export sector which contributes 17% to the GDP of the country, clearly plays an important role in achieving this objective
2013-09-18
egombo – A radical new, locally built high-speed catamaran fishing boat is poised to significantly boost the number of top-price tuna available for export from Sri Lanka to markets in Japan, China and the Middle East.
It will also help ensure tuna sustainability in Sri Lankan waters by reducing by up 70 per cent the number of fish needed to be caught in order to ensure maximum profitability.
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development has expressed keen interest in the new vessel, which will help put the country at the forefront of next-generation fishing-boat development.
2013-09-13
Sri Lanka's total quantity of tea exported including re-exports with imported tea for July reached to 29.88 million /kg, indicating a gain of 3.34 million/kg compared to the corresponding period in 2012.
The cumulative tea export earnings rose to Rs 17.76 billion, showing a slight gain of Rs 2.77 billion as against the same period last year with the increase in FOB (Free on Board) price per kg from Rs 564.92 to Rs.594.50, according to a tea market report.
Cumulative exports including re-exports with imported Tea for the period January to July 2013 recorded 174.25 million /kg, a decline of 7.82 million /kg in comparison to same period last year.
2013-09-10
As the first ever textile agreement between India and Sri Lanka became a reality, both neighbours mulled joining to enter a coveted global textile foothold-China, the world’s largest textile market. “China’s textiles are gradually moving from production to consumption. Using our strengths together-Sri Lanka’s first class garment manufacturing infrastructure and India’s quality fabric outputs-let us jointly compete for China’s textile market” said a determined Ms Zohra Chaterji (Secretary of Indian Ministry of Textiles) on 09 September in Colombo.
Ms Chaterji was addressing Anura Siriwardena (Secretary, Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka) on 09 September at Cinnamon Grand during her delegation’s official meeting with Sri Lanka’s delegation after the signing the first ever MoU between India and Sri Lanka on the same day at Galadari Hotel, Colombo earlier. During the successful Cinnamon Grand meeting, officials from both sides discussed in depth, of the modalities of the morning MoU and how to move forward and implement it in the coming months and agreed on the immediate next steps.
2013-08-18
Fresh fruit and vegetable exports recorded a 21.8% growth in the first six months of this year, said International Foodstuff Group of Companies, Chairman and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Export Development Board, Sarath de Silva.
He said that the fresh fruit and vegetable sector recorded this growth despite a slump in exports of other commodities. Export revenue has been declining since last year with a revenue drop of 6.8 percent in April this year according to the Central Bank. Export decline has been attributed to the low global demand for commodities.
2013-08-08
Sri Lanka’s apparel sector is likely to benefit from the new regulations issued by the Finance Ministry of the country.
The regulations cited as the Finance Act - Commercial Hub Regulation (CHR) No. 1 of 2013, will be applicable on all new established enterprises in the country.
Under the regulation, any new enterprise which is established or incorporated in Sri Lanka, where at least 65 percent of its total investment has been from foreign sources, shall be exempted from the application of Provisions of the Customs Ordinance (Chapter 235), the Exchange Control Act (Chapter 423), the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969, and acts referred to in schedule of the Principle Act as amended by the Finance Act, No.12 of 2013.
