Cinnamon exporters, growers form U10
Anjana Samarasinghe
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Chairman of the U 10 CCC Dr I.R. Ferdinand and CEO/MD U10 CCC
Ruwan Abeysirigunawardena at the press conference to announce
U10 CCC.
Picture by Saliya Rupasinghe
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Nine major players in the cinnamon industry tied up as one company
U10 Certified Ceylon Cinnamon (CCC) to promote and develop cinnamon
exports.
Chairman of the U10 CCC Dr I.R Ferdinand said certified cinnamon will
be the driving product for the future of the industry. U10 has already
established a system of quality inspection and certification for nine
member factories.
ISO 22000 and HACCP certification are vital factors in entering the
international markets. U10's quality enforcement mechanisms will upgrade
nine existing peeling centers to ISO 22000 certified factory level.
Director of the U10 CCC, Lal de Silva said this year they target to
export 100 metric tonnes of cinnamon under U10 and expect to increase
the quantity in the future. "We are optimistic that this target could be
achieved since there are valuable orders placed by foreign buyers," de
Silva said.
"Other cinnamon growers and the exporters also could join this new
company and improve cinnamon exports," he said.
As the initial stage, the company will focus on certifying local
cinnamon according to international standards and then moving for value
addition of local cinnamon such as powered cinnamon, cut cinnamon,
cinnamon bark oil and cinnamon health capsules. The company expects to
negotiate with international buyers for entering into joint ventures.
Consultant of the U10 CCC, Prof. D.N. Weerasinghe said the demand for
cinnamon products is increasing in the international market.
"Today industries such as beverage, liquor, pharmaceutical and
perfumery use cinnamon as a raw material. Prices of cinnamon in the
international market is also increasing".
"The local cinnamon industry is still adopting traditional methods
for peeling which badly impacts the safety and quality standards. There
is a high production cost due to high labour charges in the industry,"
he said.
"The shortage of peelers is another obstacle in the industry," he
said. "There is a lack of knowledge on product diversification of the
lower part of the supply chain in the industry. Absence in regulatory
support for maintaining standards in the industry and absence of
transforming information on Colombo auction prices to growers are some
of the issues in the industry," he said.
Sri Lanka produces 13,000 metric tonnes of cinnamon every year and 90
per cent of them has been exported.
Mexico, US and EU are the main buyers of Sri Lanka. |
