Chamber to increase Australia-Sri Lanka trade
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From left: Director, NBC Capital, Bruce Scott, President,
SLACC and Director, NBC, Kalum de Silva Shane Lawrence
(Director, NBC Capital). |
The Sri Lanka-Australia Chamber of Commerce (SLACC) was launched at
the New South Wales Business Chamber Head Office in Sydney, Australia.
Government officials, sports personalities and business leaders of
the two nations were also present.
The SLACC is the first, and only integrated bilateral Chamber
umbrella constituted in Australia, to foster commercial trade and
dialogue between Sri Lankan and Australian businesses and will provide
practical and on-the-ground support for businesspeople entering or
exploring these markets. SLACC's inaugural President, Kalum de Silva
said, "The launch of the Chamber is a momentous juncture on the road to
strengthening economic relations between the two countries and would no
doubt add further impetus to extant efforts."
At present, major Sri Lankan exports to Australia include apparel,
tea, rubber and clay construction materials while dairy, vegetables,
paper and paperboard, and animal feed make up the major Australian
exports to Sri Lanka. In fact Sri Lanka is Australia's largest importer
of lentils, importing around 70 percent of Australia's lentils. Sri
Lanka is also the eighth largest source of students pursuing a tertiary
education in Australia.
The two-way merchandise trade between the two countries amounted to
AUD $389 million in 2013/14, signaling tremendous potential for further
growth.
Membership is open to Australian, Sri Lankan and international
companies with a common interest in developing Sri Lankan and Australian
business.
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