SL Spice Council Founding Chairman to address World Spice Congress 2023

Spice Council of Sri Lanka Emeritus and Founding Chairman Sarada De Silva, on invitation, will be addressing the World Spice Congress (WSC) on ‘Ceylon Spices’.
The event will be held from September 15-17, 2023, in Navi-Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, also as part of the G20 Summit, under Indian leadership. 
De Silva was one of the main actors instrumental in starting the International Organisation of Spice Trading Associations (IOSTA) two decades ago and the Spice Council of Sri Lanka is a founder member. He is considered a doyen of the spice industry and a leading figure in the cinnamon industry. He counts on nearly 50 years of experience as a grower, producer, processor and exporter. 
His initiatives have led to the first few ISO 22000-certified cinnamon processing factories, obtaining Geographical Indications (GI) for Ceylon Cinnamon, a first for Sri Lanka and establishment of the Cinnamon Training Academy to train all actors of the industry, under international standards and National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ). It is the only Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission-accredited and approved to issue NVQ levels three and four.

Since its inception in 1990, the WSC could successfully bring together the global perspectives in the spice sector to its ambient, ranging from the traditional food and beverages to the most advanced examinations for nutraceuticals and nootropics. It has been a much sought-after and well-attended event. 
Spices have progressed a great deal from the traditional culinary aspect to astounding utilities in food preservation, food safety, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, cosmetics, natural colorants and much more.
The congress will discuss on customised production of quality spices to meet the requirements of the consumers, thrust on organic production, ways to arrive at a consensus on the wide and varied trade and quality regulations, value addition, product innovation and new initiatives, integrating the supply chain for better output and better understanding of the challenges and prospects of the industry, etc.
India, the spice hub of the world, once again takes the lead and welcomes the global spice fraternity to join in its concerted efforts to spice up the world. 
During the conference, there will be a meeting with the IOSTA to map out the future strategy for better coordination and interaction amongst spice associations from around the world to meet the challenges. 
The WSC is being held physically after three years and over 1700 delegates in the spice industry from all over to world are due to attend, specially many large-scale actors in the spice industry, as it is part of the G20 Summit.  Some of the key highlights of WSC 2023 will be (a) the carefully crafted business sessions on themes that are most relevant to the global spice trade, (b) excellent opportunity it provides to the global spice industry to meet under a single roof for direct business interactions, (c) grand exhibition with more than 150 stalls, to showcase the  strengths, capabilities, product range, latest innovations, etc. in the spices sector before the most relevant global audience and (d) spice experience zone, commodity pavilion, etc. that are planned at the venue, to provide an authentic and magnificent experience, both culinary and cultural, to the invited guests and delegates from abroad.