Task force to develop handloom industry

A first for Sri Lanka:

A National Level Task Force (NLTF) has been formed for the development of the handloom sector and to prepare a viable business model for it on a high priority basis.

"The Task Force is a national level effort and will infuse the Private Public Partnership model to this sector. It will give value and professional structure to it. It will also lead to a centralised National Handloom Coordinating Centre, create the essential roadmap for the development of this promising sector and will promptly begin to implement its targets starting from mid-January 2012," Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said.

Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the pioneering meet of the high level taskforce on 22 December at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, where representatives from the USAID, National Entrepreneurs Development Authority (NEDA), University of Moratuwa, Export Development Board, Department of Textiles, Sri Lanka Institute of Textile & Apparel, joined together to map out the future direction of the promising Sri Lankan handloom sector.

"The overall objective of the Task Force is to identify the challenges and issues of the $ 13 million handloom industry in Sri Lanka and propose an appropriate Business Model for sustainable development it," Minister Bathiudeen said.

"We should diversify our handlooms basket further. We need to minimise yarn import prices for the industry to be profitable. We also need to introduce many more private sector players to supply quality yarn for the industry," Minister Bathiudeen said.

"The weavers should now start to earn a decent, if not an attractive earning for their efforts which are a key focus of the Task Force. The Task Force will also oversee capacity building of 100,000 Lankan handloom personnel in the next three years so that the Human Resource void could be overcome," Minister Bathiudeen added.

Industry experts and pioneers have already warned of the dearth of second generation skilled weavers once the current weavers vacate from the industry. Lack of recognition is a major reason for the youth to stay away from this promising industry.

The Task Force will review its progress in the first week of January 2012 and will begin implementing the initial recommendations before the end of January itself.