Archives

The country's gem industry is a role model for other exporters who believe only in incentives provided by the state to successfully compete in the international market, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.

Speaking at the inauguration of the country's premier gem and jewellery exhibition `FACETS 2000' in Colombo yesterday the Minister said that the country's export sector could compete effectively only through the use of professional marketing methods.

"Marketing is all about creating value perception. The successful marketer uses his skills to create a superior value perception for his product over other competitive products. Unfortunately many local exporters seem to believe that they can succeed only through incentives given by the State and they do little or nothing to improve their own professionalism. However, our gem trade is an exception and it has kept pace with new developments and today Sri Lanka is reputed as a `source' country producing some of the finest gem stones in the world," Minister Karunanayake said.

He said that Sri Lanka continued to be prominent in the international gem trade as a result of the aggressive marketing approach adopted by the Sri Lanka Gem Traders Association.

"FACETS is a good example of effective international marketing promotion. Such activities along with other elements of marketing including effective pricing, distribution and product positioning will no doubt help attract and win customers," Minister Karunanayake said.

He said other exporters should follow suit and should adopt similar marketing strategies to be competitive in the international market.

"The Government has placed great emphasis on developing value-added exports from Sri Lanka as a method of accelerating economic growth. Sri Lanka is a small country with low per capita income. Production and marketing for domestic consumption alone is of limited value. We need to develop exports as a means to providing employment and generating foreign exchange earnings. Moreover, we are today operating in a highly competitive global environment and to compete effectively we should use professional marketing methods," Minister Karunanayake said. He commended the Association's efforts in successfully conducting the exhibition for 12 consecutive years amidst political turbulence in the country. CK

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager