14% annual growth in exports in three years - Prof. Peiris

The main components of the export development strategy of the government up to 2010 are value addition and employment generation said the Minister of Export Promotion Prof. G. L. Peiris.

Addressing the Export Forum organised by the National Council for Economic Development (NCED) on Monday Prof. Peiris said that the export sector performance during the past three years is commendable and there is a 12-14% annual growth. However, export growth cannot be evaluated in isolation.

There is a faster growth in imports and there is a growing disparity in regions in the country. These matters have been considered in our export development strategy up to 2010, he said.

The main component of the strategy is value addition and employment generation. In value addition we can export the inherent resources of the country. We have a high calibre of human resources and export growth opens new opportunities for employment generation.

Earlier we exported raw materials and as a result of the growth in the industrial sector we now export value added products. Until recently we exported latex. At present the world's largest manufacturers of tyres and gloves are in Sri Lanka and we export the finished products.

We also export value added tea instead of bulk tea. We produce the bulk of the world's true cinnamon. But our exports are anachronistic and archaic. We have planned to earn $ 1 billion in export revenue from this sector by 2010. Apparel is not the only industry where we have potential. Twenty-five years ago we didn't see this potential of the apparel industry.

After the multi-fibre agreement was phased out, there was panic in the industry. However, the industry faced the challenges with appropriate policy support of the government. The industry took a deliberate decision to go for high quality products and niche markets, Prof. Pieris said.