No restrictions to pepper- SAPPTA

The stakeholders of the Sri Lanka Spice industry have again recommended to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Trade and Commerce that no restriction should be introduced on the exports of pepper from Sri Lanka to India.

The Spices & Allied Products Producers' & Traders' Association (SAPPTA) have made this recommendation to the Trade Ministry for a long time because SAPPTA argues that under the Free Trade Agreement a maximum quantity of around 3500 tonnes of Sri Lankan pepper finds its way into the domestic market in India as against the total quantity of about 7500 tonnes exported from Sri Lanka to India.

The difference between these figures of about 4000 tonnes is imported into India by the pepper Extractors who manufacture Oleoresin for export from India and other export oriented units who process Pepper for export.

As the intended ceiling is for 2500 tonnes and the estimated imports into the domestic market in India is around 3500 tonnes, the extra quantity that India is receiving from Sri Lanka after the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement is only 1000 tonnes or 2% of India's estimated production of 50,000 tonnes (as declared at the International Pepper Community sessions this year).

SAPPTA maintains that an introduction of a cap is against the spirit of the agreement; besides a small quantity of around 2% of India's production being allowed into the domestic market in India should not be a provocation for the introduction of such a restriction.