Govt's economic diplomacy put to test amid exporters' battle to keep orders
Representatives of the private sector take the pledge for unity at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel yesterday exactly after a month since the Hotel came under attack by extremist Jihadi suicide bombers who were responsible for a series of lethal explosions on the same day.Pix by Jude Denzil Pathiraja
by Sanath Nanayakkare-May 21, 2019, 7:44 pm
Finding foreign export buyers for their products and services – an arduous task for exporters - has been accomplished by many Sri Lankan companies but today they are facing a new challenge. That is, how to keep their hard won export orders not because of external challenges but because of internal developments.
Sri Lankan exporters who added US 5.1 billion to the GDP last year, today remain not too sure whether they can retain their existing export orders as their foreign buyers may shy away from visiting Sri Lanka in furtherance of their business negotiations and trade deals for the forthcoming season, The Island Financial Review learnt.
Ramya Weerakoon, president, National Chamber of Exporters (NCE), who is also the chairperson of Ramya Holdings which has Trendywear (Pvt) Ltd, Ramya Horticulture (Pvt) Ltd, The Plains - A Green Bungalow and Adity Infinity (Pvt) Ltd in its portfolio, puts the onus on the government to get its foreign missions to restore international business confidence after the tragic incidents on April 21, 2019 which put the country's security arrangements and standards under a cloud.
"The government should be able to get its foreign diplomatic missions to effectively spread the word that Sri Lanka is a safe destination to visit and freely talk business. This has to happen before our regional competitors could grab our share of the international market. In fact, we haven't had fierce competition from them up to now because Sri Lankan products are way ahead of those of our competitors in terms of quality and value. However, the foreign buyers wouldn't want to compromise that single fact with the security concerns they may have when they need to visit the country for product inspection and one-to-one talks, which are crucial before placing their export orders.. Some apparel buyers should be here by now to talk business for Summer 2019 fashion collections, but unfavourable travel advisories and having to travel here without insurance has prevented them from coming. The negative effect of the situation will be felt in the third quarter of the year, not in a week or two, she said.
"I recently gave an audio recording to a foreign diplomatic mission to boost international business confidence in Sri Lanka, but that won't suffice in the face of the massive promotional and confidence building exercise we are confronted with. The government has to convey the message internationally through the diplomats that Sri Lanka is back on its track with peace, political stability and national security in their right place, she added.
Shiham Marikar, Secretary General/CEO of NCE said that reviving international business confidence is an important responsibility of the government on behalf of the export sector. "In fact, we have proposed doing this through a cohesive public-private exercise which would be more robust and credible".
Weerakoon and Marikar spoke to The Island Financial Review when representatives of the business community took a solemn pledge to work towards a united Sri Lanka, at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel Colombo yesterday.
