Lankans prefer short cuts - Mario De Alwis

by Surekha Galagoda

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Violence is a major factor that inhibits us from promoting brands. Therefore, war and violence should end before we build brands, said Mario De Alwis.

De Alwis told a seminar concurrent to the ProFood ProPack exhibition in Colombo that another reason is that Sri Lanka does not have commitment to pursue a project until the end. Most of the time our people prefer to take short cuts which is not accepted internationally as we all have to compete on a level playing field.

If a cess is charged there should be transparency in utilisation of that cess for the betterment of the industry. It is not ethical to use it on somebody’s favourite project or use it on some other project, said De Alwis.

Though Singapore doesn’t grow and process food most of the oriental food is available in Singapore and according to statistics 10 mln people have travelled to Singapore and the country is known the world over for good tasty, hygenic food.

Thailand is known the world over as the kitchen of the world and it is promoted. He said that Indians travel extensively but they never eat anything other than Indian food. Around 5-6 mln Phillipino maids are employed in the EU as well as in Asia and they are the ambassadors of Phillipino food and De Alwis added that food processors in Sri Lanka can capitalise on these known cuisines.

In addition there are many positives that we can promote internationally which include a very visible and accessible food supply chain, knowledgeable people, a clean water source, good soil conditions, great weather patterns, great traditions and customs, the romance associated with agriculture, a healthy respect for all living beings including animals and veganism. In the event these aspects are promoted globally we can secure a better share of the market. He said that we in the private sector are guilty of taking politics to business. Our system has to change and we have to tell the politicians enough is enough and tell them that we need entrepreneurs and fighters. There are many factors that global markets consider when importing food. Among them are health, safety, sustainability, social correctness, discipline and open to opinion. Stringent standards have been imposed on food imports by the western world since there have been very expensive recalls costing billions of dollars.

Within the next few years the world’s population will increase from 7-9 bln but the land to grow crops will reduce creating a shortage of food.