26 April 2023 01:23 pm Views - 9492
Sri Lanka’s first export-oriented potato chip processing factory has been established in Bandarawela by a young farmer company in Sri Lanka.
The factory has been completed in the Kahattewela area of Bandarawela. The Kahattewela Young Farmer Company is carrying out the production and export activities of this potato chips factory.
This factory was built with the Small-scale Agribusiness Participation Program (SAPP) at a cost of Rs. 20 million and with the financial contribution of the Kahatthewela Young Farmers Company.
The factory was recently inspected by Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera. Thoigh all the construction work has been completed it has not been able to start production due to the lack of electricity.
Potato chips are imported into Sri Lanka. In 2021, the amount spent on the import of potato chips to Sri Lanka was around Rs. 21 billion.
Currently, the demand for potato chips in Sri Lanka has increased by 11 percent. There is a huge demand for potato chips from Sri Lanka from the Maldives, Canada, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, and South Korea too.
The steps taken to start this potato chips factory in the Bandarawela Kahattewela area are due to the easy ability to obtain the main ingredient, as potato cultivation is currently being carried out in Welimada and Nuwara Eliya as well as Badulla. This will enable 180 farmer families who grow potatoes to sell their harvest to this factory, Minister Amaraweera said. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)