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| Tuesday, 21 September 2004 |
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Lanka could join India to export large volumes to difficult EU markets - EU Economist by Ramani Kangaraarachchi "Sri Lanka could export its products to the European market jointly with India whenever the country finds it difficult to meet the required volume of goods for those markets, said EU Economist Dr. Peter O'Brien at a seminar held on Possible enhancement of trade between the SAARC Region and the European Union at the Galle Face Hotel on Monday. He said this is reply a question raised by an exporter participant as to how they can get about the insufficient volume of goods to the European markets. He said that this could be the only possible solution as Sri Lanka is a small country. He said that its success will depend on the degree of cooperation on both sides. Dr. O'Brien pointed out seven negative factors that have to be addressed which has adverse effects in the SAARC region. They are poverty, population, recurring natural disasters, corruption, bureaucracy, bi-lateral disputes and law and order. However, the key issues in the Regional Reform Agenda of the EU covers trade expansion through trade and tariff liberalisation (SAFTA), trade facilitation, industrial integration, improvement of infrastructure such as telecom, transport, water and power, open skies in South Asia and SAARC energy cooperation. Another problem that Sri Lanka faces is the expectation of certifications from international bodies with regard to products like organic food which has a huge demand and the inability of exporters to meet the demand. Dr. O'Brien said this happens because the Europeans are very quality conscious and the EU is setting up a program to address this issue with the help of GTZ. Over fifty participants from Sri Lankan companies assessed the possibilities for enhanced trade and investment with EU enterprises and they had an indepth discussion with Dr. O'Brien. |
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