SAPPTA to develop 'Spice plan'
 

by Surekha Galagoda

The Spices and Allied Products Producers and Traders Association (SAPPTA) is planning to develop a 'Spice Plan' to take the industry forward with the help of marketing professionals.

According to the chairman of SAPPTA Lasantha Wickremesooriya, the industry earned Rs. 10 million in foreign exchange last year and it can be increased further if we add value as the quality of the spices we export is very high.

At present 90% of our exports are done in bulk form while India is moving into value addition.

He said that by increasing production and improving the quality of the produce we can add value to our spices and command a much higher price in the international market.

Wickremesooriya said that Sri Lanka cannot compete internationally in volumes.

We have to go for niche markets and promote the health benefits of each and every spice and thereby get a better price for our spices.

He said one of the problems the industry encounters is technology. In countries such as India and Thailand the initial investment to obtain the technology is borne by the respective governments and added that Sri Lanka should also adopt that approach.

He said that we have the best agriculturists in Sri Lanka and the newly passing out graduates too are excellent, but it's a little direction that the industry needs.

Our stakeholders in the financial sector have to move from a culture of killing entrepreneurship to building entrepreneurship and the banking sector has a vital role to play in developing the SME sector of the country.

He said today the Spice Board of India has embarked on a venture to market high quality Indian spices internationally. Trial marketing has already commenced in the USA.

The primary aim of the project is to reestablish the identity of Indian spices and to get a fair share of the value realised in the spice trade.

Wickremesooriya said that Sri Lanka too needs a consistent enterprise development policy that must be implemented in consultation with the trade. This will help add value to our commodities. Wickremesooriya said that the spice trade has to overcome three challenges, such as moving away from commodity marketing to value added marketing, support from the financial sector based on sound business models and not merely co-lateral and support from the government to command a premium price, earn more foreign exchange and thereby contribute more to our national economy.

Speaking of the industry, he said, that it generates a lot of self-employment opportunities and the Sri Lankan spice trade has seen a general increase in the production of all commodities over the past two decades, encompassing a wide range of technologies and processing industries of extremely sophisticated food ingredients.

The value of exports of spices and allied products have increased from Rs. 7,257 million to Rs. 10,585 million during the last three years recording a growth of 29.9%.

All the four major spices, cinnamon, pepper, cloves and nutmeg have registered an increase in exports.

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