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| Friday, 13 February 2004 |
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More assistance can help improve ceramic exports further By Shirajiv Sirimane Sri Lanka accounts for one percent of the world's ceramic market share and with more assistance from the authorities this area can be developed further said the President of the Sri Lanka Ceramic Council, (SLACC) Sunil G. Wijesinhe at the inauguration of the SLACC. He said Sri Lanka is doing well in the tableware and ornamental ware market. However, Sri Lanka is far behind in the wall and floor tile international market. The industry is facing a major setback with the high cost of electricity, which is the main component for the industry. A wall and floor tile manufacturing company has to shoulder an average electricity bill of Rs. 14.3 million per month and around Rs. 170 million per year. The monthly electricity bill for a Porcelainware manufacturing company is around Rs. 8.7 million per month (Rs. 110 million per year) and an ornamental ware manufacturer pays a monthly bill of around Rs. 2.3 million. (Rs. 28 million per year) One way out of this problem would be to encourage more LPG suppliers to enter the bulk/industrial segment. A clear government policy on the power sector is needed urgently, he said. Anti dumping legislation and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights needs to be introduced. Despite food contract legislation and standards in place by SLSI, cheap imports still contain more lead/cadmium content in the case of tableware and higher than permissible water absorption rates in the case of tiles. He said that it might be a good idea to tax imported ceramic piece by piece rather than bulk and imported tiles and tableware needs to adhere to quality standards specified by SLSI. China enjoys all the benefits of the industry such as cheap electricity, availability of raw material technology and labour. Sri Lanka's earning from the ceramic industry in terms of rupees is increasing. In 1997 Sri Lanka earned Rs. 3,246 million from ceramic exports and in 2002 it increased to Rs. 4,046 million. He said though Sri Lankan products are up to world standard, there is no brand name created for Sri Lanka for ceramics unlike tea and cricket. "This is the area where we want he government to get involved and promote Sri Lanka as a country producing high quality table ware. With a brand name Sri Lanka can create a better impact on the world market," he said. Technology Transfer through foreign collaboration is needed in the long term. Most of the government owned Ceramic companies and the research centres were privatised in the 1980's. Due to privatisation the research centre was not accessible freely and this created a void in the industry. Former Minister of Industries Rohitha Bogollagama said that the ceramic industry is a major contributor to the economy. The Indo - Lanka industrial agreement would benefit the Sri Lankan ceramic industry as it can help in technologic transfers, joint ventures and investments in the small and medium industrial sector. He said that the Indian living habits are changing with people going in for more quality tableware. "This is a area Sri Lanka should look at since it is a big market," he said. Over 20,000 are employed while there are nearly 40 companies involved in the industry. In 1997 Sri Lanka earned Rs. 3,246 million from ceramic exports and in 2002 it increased to Rs. 4,046 million. |
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