Joss sticks imports should be monitored to protect local industry

By Ananda KANNANGARA

Sri Lanka is the only country in the Asian region that still preserves age-old traditional industries. Some of our traditional industries have a long history of over 2,000 years.

The legend says that manufacturing cane furniture, tiles, bricks, clay pots, joss sticks and masks have a long history of nearly 2,500 years, the era that belonged to the Sri Lanka's first recorded King Vijaya. According to the Lankan history, King Vijaya had highly admired traditional items, manufactured by our villagers. These traditional items were even used by our ancient kings, queens and also during the latter period by the Dutch, Portuguese and British rulers.

Among these traditional items, the joss stick manufacturing industry has become very popular even today, since they are commonly used by people for various purposes such as for religious and many other cultural ceremonies. Joss sticks are also called `incense sticks'. In Sinhala they are called as `Handunkooru'.

Joss sticks are not only used by Sri Lankans, but also Indians and Chinese. Indians earlier used joss sticks to chase away small insects such as flies and mosquitoes, but later they used them at religious places to have a scented fragrance inside shrine rooms.

According to a large-scale joss stick manufacturer, bamboo sticks and charcoal powder are the major raw materials, used to manufacture joss sticks. The charcoal powder is obtained after burning hard forest wood such as teak and tamarind (Tekka and Siyambala in Sinhala). The charcoal powder is mixed with a little quantity of fragrance to get the scented smell of the joss stick.

It is also disproved that cow dung is used to manufacture joss sticks.

A book on `Religions of Sri Lanka', published during the latter part of the 18th century says that joss sticks are used by people of all religions. They are mainly used in the Asian region. In Sri Lanka over 25,000 families depend on the joss sticks manufacturing industry and 75 percent families are engaged in the industry as small-scale self-employment projects.

Many of our joss stick manufacturers are located in Galle, Kandy and in the Ratnapura districts. Joss sticks are also manufactured to a greater extent in the Northern district, since people in their thousands travel from the South to North for religious purposes, especially after the dawn of peace.

Records indicate that there is brisk business for joss sticks in Jaffna during the month of August where the Nallur Hindu festival is held. In addition, a record income is generated by traders from joss sticks by selling them near places of religious worship such as Buddhist temples, Hindu kovils and churches.

Although joss sticks are mostly used by people for special occasions, no one is aware about the problems faced by joss stick manufacturers. Among the troubles that are faced by our local manufacturers are that Indian-made joss sticks are gradually flooding the local market, which has become a severe threat to the survival of the industry locally.

The Sunday Observer last week visited a number of joss stick manufacturers in Kandy, Galle, Kalutara, Ambalangoda and Homagama to discuss with them about the current development of the joss stick manufacturing industry.

In an interview with a Sri Lankan leading joss stick manufacturer, Bobby Industries, Managing Director Abdul Razak said over 25,000 Sri Lankan families are currently engaged in the joss stick manufacturing industry and it is the duty of the Government to protect them by banning the Indian joss sticks imports to the country.

Employees at the factory

He said that 50 percent Indian made joss sticks are in the local market today, while the balance percentage is the locally made stuff and under such circumstances how could local manufacturers survive.

"If Indian joss sticks are continuously imported to our country by authorities without giving an ear to our repeated warnings, the local industry will collapse and over 25,000 families who depend on the industry will face immense economical hardships".

He therefore proposed to the Government to either ban Indian joss sticks or increase the duty substantially to help local industrialists.

He said banning Indian joss sticks that contain chemicals such as musk, musk xylone and musk ambarti which leads to cancer, obtaining the SLS certificate for Indian joss sticks, increase the Cess Tax by 100 percent for any variety of imported joss sticks, banning free gifts that are included in most Indian joss stick boxes, cancelling the licence required for cutting bamboo trees for local joss stick manufacturers and allocate Mahaweli lands to grow bamboo trees for local industrialists are some of the steps to be taken by the Government to improve the local joss stick manufacturing industry.

He also believes Sri Lanka could even export joss sticks if the Government stops importing joss sticks from India. Razak also said that a bamboo tree earlier cost only Rs. 50 but it cost about Rs. 1,000 at present and proposed the authorities to allocate bare lands and encourage people to grow more bamboo trees.

Chairman National Enterprise Development Authority Lakshman Wijeyawardana said during 1970s Sri Lanka imported only 20 percent joss sticks from India but at present 80 percent Indian joss sticks are in the local market.

He also highlighted the importance of protecting local joss stick manufacturers and also the industry by banning imported joss sticks.

A leading joss stick manufacturer, 43-year old Gamini Samarakoon of Wanduramba, Galle, said charcoal powder and fragrance items are very expensive in the open market and therefore asked authorities to provide them at reduced prices unless about 200 families who are engaged in the industry will lose employment.

A mother of four children, Kamala Samarasinghe of Kalutara said unlike earlier the local joss stick industry will not survive, unless the Government take a decision to stop Indian joss sticks.

She also requested authorities to provide them with raw materials at subsided rates to develop the industry.

A long-standing joss stick manufacturer Rupananda Wedage of Hikkaduwa proposed the Government to stop selling Indian joss sticks in the Hikkaduwa tourist village to protect the local industry.

He said unlike earlier, foreign tourists do not buy local joss sticks but they prefer imported joss sticks and due to this, the village joss stick industry has collapsed to a greater extent.