Special discussion on the cinnamon industry was held under the chairmanship of K.D. Lalkantha, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation
A special discussion on the cinnamon industry was held on the 7th at the Govijana Mandiraya under the chairmanship of K.D. Lalkantha, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation. The Minister had recently met with cinnamon industrialists, and in response to a request made at that meeting, arrangements were made to hold this special discussion.
There is high demand in the world market for Sri Lankan cinnamon. Our country’s cinnamon is named ‘True Cinnamon’. Many countries have False Cinnamon, or what is known as Cassia. This special discussion was arranged because maintaining the proper standards of cinnamon, which is considered a heritage of our country, is a challenge. Groups including the Department of Cinnamon Development, Department of Export Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Cinnamon Exporters Association, and Cinnamon Growers Association participated in this discussion.
Sri Lanka annually exports 19,000 metric tons of cinnamon and the revenue earned from it is 230 billion dollars. There is high competition between Ceylon Cinnamon (True Cinnamon) and Cassia. Due to the mixing of Cassia with Sri Lankan cinnamon, problems have also arisen regarding our standards. In this process, there is also a misuse of Sri Lanka’s name.
Since maintaining the standards of cinnamon that have been protected so far has become a major challenge, it is important to strengthen Sri Lanka’s intervention going forward in creating a dialogue about this in the world. Everyone should focus on presenting a unified opinion to confirm our position. Although many opinions may be presented within Sri Lanka, it should be presented as one opinion in the world.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation D.P. Wickremasinghe, Director General of the Department of Cinnamon Development L.M.J.K. Gandara, and other officials participating in this occasion. It was also proposed at this occasion to appoint a committee representing all sectors.
