Fresh boost for floriculture exports

Floriculture processing, training and agro tourism centre opened in Bingiriya

Labour saving efforts and productivity are major aspects of surviving the fast growing world flower market which is also highly competitive. “Though Sri Lanka supplies only around 0.4% of supply to the world flower market, this sector is one identified in the five year action plan for export promotion and development by my Ministry’s Export Development Board. The world flower market is growing by 10% a year and is highly competitive. This year’s total international flower export trade is estimated to be $ 25 billion. Labour saving efforts and productivity are major aspects of surviving in this market,” announced Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, addressing the floriculture exporters of Sri Lanka having inaugurated the Bingiriya Mal Wasanthaya Trade Exhibition 2012 on 31 May.

This exhibition is an agricultural exhibition event organised by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in collaboration with Bingiriya Development Foundation. During the address, Minister Bathiudeen also announced another Rs. 18 million in addition to the original Rs. 25 million funding for the Bingiriya Floriculture Project.
The Bingiriya Agri Export Zone is the first Agri Export Zone being implemented under the Agri Export Zone Programme proposed by President Mahinda Rajapakse as the Minister of Finance in the National Budget 2009. The main objectives to be achieved by implementing Agri Export Zones are to organise high quality export products at rural level, involvement of farmer villages for production for export, and increase of living standards of the rural communities. Presently this Zone is engaged on cultivation and processing of cut flowers and foliage for export. Out-grower network consisting of 200 houses already set up for Anthurim and foliage cultivation for export and the network is to be expanded by another 1000 out growers this year.  
The Minister said, “The world flower market is growing by 10 percent a year and is highly competitive. The major buyers such as Germany, USA, UK, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland readily absorb 80 percent of international flower exports. This year’s total international flower export trade is estimated to be $ 25 billion. Labour saving efforts and productivity are major aspects of surviving in this market. As you may already be aware our national export revenues increased to 10.6 billion dollars in 2011 registering 23.2% increase over 2010, which shows that the export development strategies under President Rajapaksa are paying dividends.”
Minister Bathiudeen added, “To reach $ 20 billion export target by 2020 we need to diversify our exports and this initiative has a key role in this regard. We have been successful in entering new markets by conducting trade exhibitions in new economic centres of China, India, and Korea. Though Sri Lanka supplies only around 0.4 per cent of supply to the world flower market, this sector is one of the sectors identified by the EDB’s five year action plan for export promotion and development. The production related factors for flower exports such as un-utilised lands, lands for inter-cropping availability of water and labour force are favourable factors conducive for development of this industry in Sri Lanka. This sector does not depend on the use of imported raw material and therefore does not contribute towards increasing our import bill and as a result provides greater scope for the involvement of SMEs, which is the backbone of our economy, hence this sector is of huge importance and projects like Bingiriya could enhance Sri Lankan rural population while enhancing the share of our exports. The event is an opportunity to popularise the cultivation of foliage and cut flowers and strengthen the market linkages with exporters for the producers in this emerging sector,” Minister Bathiudeen said.
Announcing another outlay of Rs. 18 million for the stage two of the project, Minister Bathiudeen said that the Export Development Board under the preview of my Ministry has provided financial assistance amounting to Rs. 25 Million for completion of the stage one of the Project. “We will be providing another Rs. 18 million for the second stage of the project by today’s initiatives of laying the foundation stone for construction of fully equipped collection and processing centre, training centre and the Agro Tourism Centre.”