Japanese technology to develop cinnamon industry

A delegation of the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE), led by President Sarada de Silva and Secretary General Shiham Marikar visited Tokyo recently.

The members of the delegation included representatives of Blue Diamond JewelleryWorldwide PLC, Faga Tyres (Pvt) Limited, Laugfs Corporation (Rubber) Limited, Pripa Organic Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, Uniceyl Marketing Services (Pvt) Ltd., and Khalhari Enterprise. The delegates visited the Toyohashi University of Technology where they had a meeting with Dr. Naohiro Hozumi.

de Silva, a former Chairman of the Spice Council, had discussions earlier with Dr. Hozumi at the University of Moratuwa regarding the introduction of new technology for the peeling of cinnamon.

Dr. Hozumi expressed interest in technology transfer for this purpose. The transfer of technology will help resolve the biggest problem faced by the cinnamon industry, the shortage of skilled labour for peeling.

As the skills are passed from parents to children and the fact that today, many youth are reluctant to spend long hours in tedious work, the industry will face a serious problem of sustenance.

In Sri Lanka, the same method has been used for so long without any improvisation. Sri Lanka only has a 10% share in the global value-added cinnamon market.

Therefore, to gain maximum profits and achieve a higher market share in the global market it is crucial to introduce the latest technology to the industry.

This new technology would help to achieve maximum output, while preserving the supreme quality of the Ceylon Cinnamon.