SL exporters well equipped to cater to EU market with assistance provided by IPD

The Sri Lankan exporters will be able to improve the offering and services to the European Union (EU) market going forward with the initiatives rolled out by the Import Promotion Desk (IPD), in Germany, which came to a close this month.

According to the Export Development Board (EDB), the series of efforts rolled out over a four-year period has helped foster a “new set of exporters” to the nation’s economy.

In Sri Lanka, the IPD has been active since 2018 and has been supporting local producers of natural ingredients who want to gain a foothold in the EU market. The desk was founded in 2012 and had been working towards connecting small and medium-sized enterprises from selected developing and emerging countries with European importers.

The IPD contributes its knowledge of the EU market and the demand side and supports the establishment of sustainable export promotion structures.

“We are very happy about the success of this programme and grateful for the professionalism and commitment the EDB officers have shown during the course of our mutual activities. The excellent outcome is a result of the teamwork of the involved partners and an exemplary case for the success of international cooperation,” said IPD Expert Sourcing and Purchasing Angie Martinez.

Under the programmes implemented by the IPD in partnership with the EDB, selected enterprises were given exposure to areas such as market intelligence, capacity building, knowledge of import standards and conformity requirements to enter the market.

Avenues were also created to allow participation in premier international trade fairs such as BIOFACH, SIAL, Food Ingredients Europe and ANUGA under the assistance scheme.

Participating enterprises under this programme were Woga Naturals (Pvt.) Ltd, Waguruwela Oil Mills (Pvt.) Ltd, Lihini Nature Products (Pvt.) Ltd, Pasanka (Pvt.) Ltd, Asian Agro Products (Pvt.) Ltd and Manchiee De Coco (Pvt.) Ltd. The selected entities export a range of agricultural products such as coconut-related products, spices, dehydrated fruits, canned jackfruit, herbs, ingredients for tea, etc.

The beneficiary exporters represent all regions of the country, including the Southern, Central, and North-Western provinces. The participant enterprises have obtained certification prerequisites such as ISO, ORGANIC and HACCP, in order to be eligible for market access in the EU.

IPD - Germany promotes the establishment of durable, long-term trade relations between importers and tour operators in Germany and Europe and companies from selected partner countries.

A representative of the IPD is based at the EDB premises from where the IPD hub provides support in strengthening sustainable structures for trade promotion and contributes with direct knowledge of the demand in the European markets.