CCC Trade Fair Unit expands trade promotion

Puvi DOMINGOPILLAI Consultant

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Trade Fair Unit, marks nine years of dedicated service to the Sri Lankan business community this year.

Kulathunga Rajapaksa

Established in 2002 as a trade promotion arm of the CCC, the Trade Fair Unit has succeeded in leading business promotion and fact finding missions to over 34 potential and untapped markets, offering its members opportunities to explore and diversify into new markets.

Chemical Industries ((Colombo) PLC and DSI Samson Group (Pvt) Ltd. having participated in more than ten missions. The CCC Trade Fair Unit interviewed Chemical Industries (Colombo) PLC Managing Director and CEO Samantha Ranatunga and DSI Samson Group Managing Director Kulathunga Rajapaksa to share their views on how their company benefited by participating at the CCC missions.

Q: What were the benefits your company derived through your participation at the CCC Business Promotion Missions? Was it a gainful exercise? Were you able to achieve your goals and expectations?

SR: CIC has participated in over ten missions conducted by the CCC and have benefited immensely from the overseas business development activities of the Chamber. We started our participation at the time the company was looking to expand the business into overseas markets.

KR: It was a gainful exercise and one cannot expect immediate results just from the mission. We take a long term view and lay foundations in each and every visit and then do a follow up exercise, so that we can reach the goals with time.

Q: We note there were different levels of representations from your organization from the Chairman, Managing Director and CEO to managers at our missions. How do they evaluate the usefulness of their participation?

SR: The company participated in trade missions at the director, manager and junior executive levels. This depended on complexity of the export products and also the senior management and directors travelled to get an overview of the training activities of a particular region and looking for projects of higher potential.

KR: We nominate different levels of managers depending on the countries visited and the evaluation is done when they make the presentation after the mission. Of course we always nominate high level managers who can take decisions during the mission. The evaluation criteria will be on the business contacts that has been established. The realization of the business will depend on many factors such as duty structures and political stability. The evaluation is not only based on exports but also on imports. Finding better sources of supplies or better terms of supplies are also considered as good achievements of the mission. In certain missions there were opportunities to visit factories from which some good production techniques were derived.

Q: What were the reasons for your continuous participation?

SR: Reasons for participating in your missions were the fact that they were very well organized, they have the blessings of the host country chambers, the ease of handling travel and immigration and other arrangements of business meetings.

KR: The reason for continuous participation was that when we go to a country as a mission from a recognized chamber there is good acceptance from the other side.

Further, as the mission has many members in various fields we get an opportunity to interact with a wide range of businessmen and this is very useful for future projects.

This opportunity we will not get when we travel alone. Larger the mission better for the members and more chances of clicking some business even out of the main line.

Q: Did the missions offer opportunities to your organization to establish new contacts, secure orders, diversify into new sectors and assist in expansion of trade?

SR: The missions have also helped us to diversify into new areas and establish series of contacts in new trading regions.

KR: Yes these missions gave us many opportunities not only to establish new contacts but to explore into other fields and opportunities. In order to achieve this, it is very important that good reputed companies are selected for the mission.

Q: Do you feel it is more prestigious and advantageous to join a CCC mission to promote your business?

SR: I definitely feel that there are immense benefits for any member to join the CCC missions.

KR: Of course it is advantageous to participate in CCC or similar chamber missions than individual visits as no new contact can be established on your own. Only missions of this nature will get publicity through the chambers for an interaction through which we will be able to meet the counterparts.

Q: What are your views on the services provided by the CCC Trade Fair Unit through its missions?

SR: The CCC, through their trade fair unit facilitates many missions and this helps the country's efforts in exports making a direct contribution to the national economy. The experience the officials carried in organizing events of this nature, makes it possible even for a relatively new manager to participate in overseas missions as all logistics are taken care of by CCC.

KR:When there is an increase in exports through establishment of links with new buyers or markets, it will improve the economy of the country. Also, finding a better source of supply or technology will also record an improvement in the economy of the country. Hence, trade missions and also trade fairs always help in strengthening the economy of the country. If the country is to develop, participation at these events should be encouraged.