Ten SL organic farming businesses showcase export potential in Berlin

Participants representing Embassy of Sri Lanka in Germany, GIZ Sri Lanka team, 10 SMEs and policy study group 

A high-profile event held earlier this month provided a unique platform for 10 Sri Lankan companies to showcase their organic agriculture products with export potential and connect them with the potential buyers and investors in Europe. 
The event was facilitated by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Berlin.
Implemented as part of the ‘Support to Small and Medium Enterprises in the Organic Agriculture Sector’ programme, jointly co-financed by the European Union (EU) and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the ‘Flavours of Sri Lanka’ event was a collaboration between GIZ Sri Lanka, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Berlin and Sri Lanka Export Development Board.
The 10 displayed Sri Lankan organic products were: banana blossom (Sayaladu CoCo), Coconuts (Ceylon Exports & Trading), vanilla (D&P Ceylon Expo), cinnamon (Savour Route), pepper (Joint Agri Products Ceylon (Pvt.) Ltd), jackfruit (Worga Naturals (Pvt.) Ltd), mango (Ellawala Horticulture (Pvt.) Ltd), blooming tea (Gralgo from Ceylon (Pvt.) Ltd), immunity booster drink (Adhitya Ayurveda) and moringa powder (Lanka Good Market Gte Ltd). 
The European buyers and investors were able to discover and try the products while interacting with the respective companies and building business connections. Enhancing the atmosphere at the event, fusion dishes were prepared from the products on display to the audience, thus bringing them to life.
Notable speakers at the event included Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the States of South Asia of Deutsche Bundestag and former Federal Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture of Germany Renate Kuenast, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Germany Varuni Muthukumaran, International Officer responsible for Sri Lanka from the European Commission Tomasz May and Head of GIZ Berlin Randa Kourieh. 
Also in attendance were senior Sri Lankan government officials representing the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Standards Institute, Sri Lanka Accreditation Board and Agriculture Department, as part of an international study tour that was funded though the ‘Support to Small and Medium Enterprises in the Organic Agriculture Sector’ programme, co-financed by the EU and BMZ.
The event highlighted the EU and GIZ work done in the field of organic agriculture in Sri Lanka, which included supporting over 1000 farmers and over 100 private sector companies. GIZ Sri Lanka and the EU have been leveraging Sri Lanka’s organic agriculture industry by providing technical inputs and knowledge to uplift the industry’s export potential.