Sri Lanka is yet to tap the huge market of value added export oriented products and more focus should be in this area Minister of Plantation Industries and Export Agriculture, Dr Ramesh Pathirana at the launch of ‘Industry 2023’ National Industry Exhibition to be held at BMICH from June 22 to 25.
“Local manufacturers have an enormous market at our doorstep which is the Indian and the Chinese markets. The Indian economy is four trillion USD and the Chinese economy is 18 trillion. Together they form one of the largest segments of the world economy and they are predicted to be the two largest economies 30 years down the line. We must reap benefit of this opportunity and export more to these countries”, he said
The minister said, “Sri Lanka exports to all the major importing countries but our share is very small in value since our product basket is small. Our export share is less than 0.1 % compared to many countries. The total world imports are about 22 trillion whereas we export only 12 billion annually. Yet, our imports escalated up to about 21 billion lately.”
“We work on developing a ‘land bank’ and work closely with the EDB to ensure we acquire more land for industrial development. The central bank is working on bringing down the interest rates by the third quarter which will help more local investment. We would fast-track licensing to ensure institutions digitizing their services and simplify industrial registrations and other supporting activities with the help of government organizations.”
“We have finalized the National Industrial Policy which is pending approval by the cabinet which has to be supported by the monetary policy. Moreover, the government focuses on educational reforms to suit entrepreneurship. We will inculcate an entrepreneurial mindset within school children”, he further stated.
‘Industry 2023’ exhibition organized by the Ministry of Industries in association with the Industrial Development Board will showcase innovations and local industry excellence in machinery, technology, raw materials and business development services to the potential local and international markets creating a platform that harnesses relationships between stakeholders, policy makers and government support services.
The exhibition is designed to widen the capabilities and capacities of Sri Lankan industries opening doors for SMEs, large companies and multinational corporations to display their raw materials, tools, equipment, machinery, components and accessories.
Declaration of the national industry day, parade on locally assembled vehicles, virtual exhibition, demos of machineries and industrial innovations, participation of leading national and international organizations with industry development and promotion will be some of the highlights at the event.
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