Lanka Sugar records Rs 1,486 m PBT
Lanka Sugar Company Limited, a government owned company set up in
2012 to manage the Pelwatte and Sevanagala sugar plantations recorded a
profit before tax of Rs 1,486 million for the financial year ended
December 31, 2013.
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Chairman, Lanka Sugar Company, Keerthi Kotagama |
The two under performing companies were taken over by the government
in 2011 to make them productive and provide a greater services to the
farmers and to the public.
In 2012 the Ministry of Sugar Industries Development was set up to
make Sri Lanka self sufficient in sugar by 2020. Sri Lanka imports
around 600,000 mt of sugar spending over Rs 55 billion per annum which
is next only to the import of oil. In 2011 it was reported that local
production was only 4.8% of national demand while 95% was imported from
countries such as India, Thailand and Brazil.
After setting up Lanka Sugar Company to manage Pelwatte and
Sevanagala plantations in October 2012, sugar production in the country
has doubled to 10% of the national requirement. Pelwatte has a land
extent of 13,000 hectares, of which 10,000 hectares was cultivated and
of Sevanagala's 4,215 hectares, 3,250 hectares was cultivated by the end
of December 2013.
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