Export agriculture promoted in Matara district

by P.P.G. Sugathadasa - Thihagoda Group Cor

Matara District Office of the Department of Export Agriculture has taken measures to enhance export agricultural crops in the Matara district said Assistant Director D.A.D.A.N. Wijayasinhe attached to District Office, Department of Export Agriculture, Matara. The high priority has been extended for cinnamon,pepper, cardamom, areca and ginger cultivations in Export Agriculture Officers' Divisions in the district.

130 hectares for cinnamon,12 hectares for pepper,04 hectares for areca and 01 hectare for ginger are planned to be brought under the proposed fresh cultivation projects in the Export Agriculture divisions of Matara, Kamburupitiya, Akuressa, Hakmana, Deiyandara, Devinuwara, Deniyaya, Weligama, Pasgoda and Pitabeddara.

Under post harvest technology programs cinnamon processing centers have also been set up in the Matara district.

There are two each in Matara, Akuressa and Devinuwara divisions and one each in Kamburupitiya, Deiyandara, Pasgoda and Weligama divisions totalling 10 he said.

Wijayasinhe said that the genuine cinnamon exported by Sri Lanka has a great demand in the world market.

Minor export crop cultivators have formed their own organisations to address problems such as marketing and fetching reasonable prices for their local produce.

He said that since of late most of the tea cultivators in the Deniyaya region in the Matara district have started abandoning their tea cultivations and taken to growing cinnamon on a large scale. The possibility of establishing cinnamon processing factories in the island is also being explored by the ministry at the moment.

A policy decision has been taken to ban the export of sub- standard cinnamon from Sri Lanka from January next year by Export Agriculture Ministry he said.