A webinar on “EU Market Trends in Agri Products Sector” organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Germany in collaboration with the Import Promotion Desk of Germany and Export Development Board of Sri Lanka was held on 30 June, 2021 with a view to educating Sri Lankan exporters on trends in the processed food, natural ingredients and fresh produce sectors, who wished to enter or expand in the German and wider EU market.
Delivering the welcome remarks, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Germany Manori Unambuwe stressed on the imperative of having market insights, so that Sri Lankan exporters could position their products correctly and attract the right buyers. She further stated that this was the first, in a series of webinars being organized by the Embassy focusing on the Agri sector on topics such as quality certifications, sustainability, market research etc., to help better prepare exporters when entering the German and wider EU market. The Ambassador Unambuwe also highlighted that the decision of the President to transition to 100% organic agriculture, will be an added advantage for Sri Lanka, to cater to the growing demand for organic products in the EU market.
In her Keynote speech, International Trade Consultant in the food industry Lydia Gerratt, with over 19 years as a buyer in the retail market, delved deep into the current trends in the EU Market for Agri products and the major concerns of importers including, quality standards, sustainability, and environmental friendliness. Consultant Gerratt took the opportunity to clarify concerns of many Sri Lankan exporters during the Q & A session. She further congratulated Sri Lanka on the policy decision to shift to organic agriculture methods and assured that the demand for organic food products had doubled in the last few years and Sri Lanka could leverage it to re-brand its image and gain a larger market share in the organic food sector.
Expert Sourcing & Markets of the Import Promotion Desk of Berlin María Gómez Salamanca spoke on the current program to support Sri Lankan exporters to enter European market and announced that Sri Lanka was being considered as a Hub with direct investment by IPD to locate an expert resource, to support EDB and other associations.
In his concluding remarks, Chairman of the Export Development Board Suresh De Mel expressed his appreciation for organizing the timely webinar and assured of the continued support by EDB to Sri Lankan Agri sector exporters in their endeavors.
The webinar was attended by 240 participants representing a healthy cross section of growers and manufacturers from large to SME sector companies in Sri Lanka.
