Re-impose cess, say local ceramic manufacturers

Local ceramic manufacturers are calling upon the Government to re-impose the cess of Rs 100 per kg of imported ceramics to stop inferior imports and save the industry. Royal Fernwood Porcelain Ltd Managing Director, Dr Jagath Peiris said that a cess of Rs 100 per kilogram of imported ceramics was imposed in the last Budget and within a few weeks it was reduced to Rs 50 per kilogram.

Inferior imports were flooding the market which is a blow to local manufacturers, while it also is a health hazard. He said the Ceramics Council made representations to the Government and the Sri Lanka Standards Institution has issued standards. It has helped to reduce inferior imports but is not able to stop it, said Dr Peiris.

He said that most of the export markets are going through recession and therefore exports have reduced. The only alternative is to sell in the local market and the demand is good, especially in the North and the East, but the local market is flooded with inferior imports which affects the sales of local manufacturers.

“RFPL is a subsidiary of Browns and we are supported by them which has helped RFPL to expand the market to the North and the East together with Browns which is a household name in the country”, he said.RFPL also opened a flagship outlet at Havelock Road and have introduced novel design and shapes by working with well-known designers such as David Queensberry, Martin Hunt, Guy White, Barbara Icon as well as with a company in Italy.

Peiris said RFPL purchased energy efficient kilns, penetrating into new markets, a strong balance sheet and the company is poised for growth with the support of the parent company Browns. As RFPL is now a non BOI company it can even sell all of its products locally.The company also participated at the Ambiente Fair in Frankfurt for the 10th consecutive year where we received many inquiries for new shapes and designs. Compared to other countries in Europe, Germany is strong as the Government protects local manufacturers from imports. He said that even in countries such as Turkey and Egypt, domestic tableware manufacturers are protected against imports.

Internationally, the industry is competing with Bangladesh, China and Indonesia . The cost of production of our products are higher compared to other competing countries due to the high energy cost.

The Ceramic industry is high energy consuming and energy cost accounts for more than 50 percent.

“The energy cost of the other competing countries are low compared to ours which makes our products expensive but our quality is very much superior to theirs,” he said. During the last 18 months, energy costs have increased by about 70 percent in our country”, he said.

SG