Canadian help for Lanka's agri sector

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

There are many lessons that the Sri Lankan agricultural sector could learn from Canada. Canada considers Sri Lanka as an important customer and will work towards strengthening relationship in terms of trade further, Canadian High Commission Charge d Affaire Fred Jacques said. The Canadian High Commission organized a seminar on agri-food sector and Canadian capabilities held in Colombo yesterday.

A delegation of around 18 Canadian agri company members visited Sri Lanka to share their expertise at this seminar.

The agri-food industry is one of the oldest sectors contributing to the success of the Canadian economy.

"The seminar provided an excellent opportunity for Sri Lankan businesses to learn further about the development in the agri industry of Canada and the capabilities that Canada possesses", he said.

Canada's agri-food industry is renowned for its highly technological advances and its exporters have been successful in international markets and enjoy a positive reputation as reliable suppliers of safe and high-quality products.

The food sector is both innovative and adaptive and able to constantly evolve to meet the needs of an evolving marketplace.

Canada is ranked among the top five agricultural exporters in the world at present and is the world's largest exporter of products such as lentils, mustard seeds, canary seeds, peas, canola and maple syrup.

Sri Lanka could take a cue from Canada to improve the standards of agriculture in the country while introducing innovation for better output, he said.

The team of guest speakers was headed by Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership Senior Director (Asia-Africa) Tim Marshall where topics such as "Pulse grading in Canada" and "Opening the gate to bilateral opportunities" were discussed.