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Lankan exporters receive crucial support to enter EU-market

Published

2 years ago

2021/02/26

Sri Lankan exporters are getting crucial support from key institutions in Europe to successfully meet with the standards the European importers require when importing goods and services from Sri Lanka.

These sustainability standards are partially politically driven, but they are also more and more consumer and industry driven. Besides, in line with the existing official legally binding standards, European importers require more and more consumer and industry driven standards such as Fair trade, BSCI, SA8000 and IFS.

The Delegation of German Industry and Commerce (AHK Sri Lanka) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) co-organized their second conference on “Sustainable Supply Chains as drivers of global competitiveness”, in Colombo on Wednesday.

Since September 2020, the two organizations in cooperation with Loening Human Rights and Responsible Business have conducted several training sessions, individual gap assessments and covered the preconditions for certifications for Sri Lankan exporters in rubber, apparel, and food products sectors. And all project partners agreed to extend the project to the Sri Lankan tourism sector.

Chief Delegate of German Industry and Commerce and Industry in Sri Lanka Andreas Hergenroether said: “The major reason to partner for the initiative is to support Sri Lankan exporters to obtain broader market access and to enable German/European importers to import according to international sustainability standards. Sustainability standards are a reality. They are partially politically driven, but they are also more and more consumer and industry driven”.

Country Head for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Hubertus von Welck underlined that the initiative “Sustainable supply chains as driver for global competitiveness” had been taken up and was now been extended as a contribution to the restart of the Sri Lankan economy to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic as fast as possible. He emphasised that companies should be open for standards under the UN Guiding Principles and incorporate those in their in-house procedures”.

In a video message German Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Holger Seubert pointed out the relevance of the subject with regards to the upcoming Supply Chain Law in Germany. “A joint inter-ministerial draft law is to be presented in mid-March to the German parliament. German importers will be under the obligation to continuously verify that their suppliers respect United Nation Guiding Principles (UNGP) of business and human rights. Violations will be sanctioned with penalties up to 10% of the importer’s annual turnover and exclusion from public tenders up to three years.”

During the panel discussion with company representatives of the targeted sectors of apparel, food and tourism, panellists stressed how much their businesses were related to consumer driven sustainability requirements and how important the required documentation of UNGPs conform processes was.

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Veteran singer and musician Professor Sanath Nandasiri passed away at the age of 81

Published

42 mins ago

2023/03/28

Priyan

Veteran singer and musician Professor Sanath Nandasiri has passed away at the age of 81

News

Overtime gravy train for public sector back

Published

6 hours ago

2023/03/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Govt. MPs make contradictory statements on state of economy

By Shamindra Ferdinando

UNP National List MP Wajira Abeywardena on Sunday (26) disclosed the issuance of a circular by the Finance Ministry to restore overtime and other payments in the public sector.

The declaration was made in Galle soon after Transport and Media Minister Bandula Gunawardane lamented that the government was short of billions of rupees to pay public sector salaries, pensions, Samurdhi payments and meet recurrent expenditure.

Minister Gunawardena and UNP National List MP Abeywardena addressed the local media after the handing over of several buses to the Galle SLTB depot.

Cabinet Spokesman Gunawardena said that the government needed as much as Rs 196 bn before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year and its projected revenue was Rs 173 bn. In addition to that Rs 500 mn was required to settle what Minister Gunawardena called bilateral debt.

Minister Gunawardane said that a part of the first tranche of USD 333 mn from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be utilised to pay public sector salaries.

Of the USD 333 mn received so far, USD 121 had been used to pay the first installment of USD 1 bn credit line secured from India early last year, according to State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera in the second week of August last year revealed as much as Rs 3 bn had been paid as overtime to Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) workers for several months. This disclosure was made in response to a query raised by Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella.

One of the major demands of the public sector trade unions on the warpath over the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government’s new tax formula is the restoration of overtime.

News

Now, Opposition wants Finance Secy. hauled up before Privileges Committee

Published

6 hours ago

2023/03/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Prof G L Peris

Prof. G. L. Peiris yesterday (27) urged Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to act speedily on the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) request to summon Finance Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena before the parliamentary Committee on Ethics and Privileges.

Addressing the media on behalf of the Freedom People’s Alliance, the former External Affairs Minister said that the Treasury Secretary had challenged the parliament by withholding funds allocated in the budget 2023 to the Election Commission thereby sabotaging the election.

Prof. Peiris said that there couldn’t be a far worse violation of parliamentary privileges than a government official undermining Parliament.

Instead of appreciating the intervention made by the Supreme Court to facilitate the delayed Local Government polls, the ruling party had sought to challenge the apex court, Prof. Peiris said, urging Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to fulfill his obligations.

Prof. Pieris said that if the government lacked funds, just one percent of USS 333 mn received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was sufficient to conduct the election.

The ex-minister said that the IMF wouldn’t oppose the utilisation of a fraction of the first tranche of USD 2.9 bn loan facility provided over a period of four years to guarantee the constitutional rights of the Sri Lankan electorate. (SF)