China provides concessions to boost exports

Anjana SAMARASINGHE

China expects to provide more concessions to Sri Lanka to boost exports from Sri Lanka to China. Deputy Director General of Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Commerce of People’s Republic of China Zhu Hong said China is a huge market for Sri Lanka and they do a large number of imports to the country.

“China provides large varieties of concessions to Sri Lanka. We provide tariff concessions for over 1,700 products import from Sri Lanka. This covers 50 per cent of the total exports to China from Sri Lanka,” he said. He was speaking at the discussion on Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) with senior Government officials at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday.

Hong said China is planning to offer more concessions to Sri Lanka within the next two and half years under the APTA which will cover over 2,000 products being exported to China from Sri Lanka.

“However there is a low usage of the tariff concessions by Sri Lankan exporters. Most local exporters are not aware of these concessions. The Government needs to educate the private sector on these concessions,” he said.

An official of the Department of Commerce, Dr Dayaratne Silva said Sri Lanka has used less than five per cent of preferential tariff lines granted by China. Sri Lanka’s total exports to China in 2006 were US$ 25.6 million and it was US$ 28.4 million in the previous year.

Talking about Sri Lanka’s total trade with APTA countries Dayaratne said the country’s total exports to APTA countries US$ 564 million in 2006 and it was US$ 626 million in 2005. The total imports from APTA countries to Sri Lanka is recorded as US$ 2805 million in 2006.

“Even though Sri Lanka is entitled to 12 per cent of current export for APTA preferences, concessions have been obtained only for five per cent of exports. Out of APTA eligible exports, 15 per cent is completely untouched by the exporters,” he said.

An Expert from the Government of India, Rajan Sudesh Ratna said Sri Lanka did not have any bilateral trade agreement with China and APTA provides golden opportunities for the local business community to trade with China.

“The local apparel industry could source cheaper raw material from China and derive tremendous benefits through GSP concession offered by the European Union. APTA will provide ample opportunities for business expansion, sourcing and attracting foreign direct investment to Sri Lanka,” he said. Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka are APTA members.