Sri Lanka spends foreign exchange unnecessarily on canned fish imports and this money could be made used for other urgent needs.
In 2015, the country spent Rs. 12 billion on canned fish imports. Though this has gradually reduced in the past two years, we could altogether stop this foreign exchange drain, Canned Fish Manufacturing Association of Sri Lanka President Shiran Fernando said.
“We have four factories. They are underutilized at present. If we are given the necessary support we will be able to provide the entire canned fish needs of the country,” he said.
Emphasising that the canning of fish is a viable industry, he said that saving foreign exchange and providing jobs is the aim of the association.
“We need to have a vibrant canned fish industry in Sri Lanka. Look at Thailand where they have only one tenth of the sea areas as Sri Lanka. But they are the fourth largest Tuna fish exporter in the world. We can do the same provided that the government supports us,” he said.
The government reduced the duty on imported canned fish from Rs. 102 to Rs. 50 and this has hit the local canned fish industry badly. We request the government to impose the same duty level and save the local industry, Fernando said.
There is a net average currency out flow in excess of US$ 71 million annually due to canned fish importation.
“There are 250,000 fishermen in the country with a 900,000 fishing community. The living standard of the fishing community would be vastly improved if the canned fish industry is developed. The biggest contributor in the canned fish imports to the country is China and small local manufactures can not compete with China. We need to have a level playing field and avoid dumping by China to develop the local industry,” he said.
While exporters enter new markets or expand on their existing markets with better technology and better relations, “We also believe import substitution for domestic consumption is also a key factor towards bringing downward pressure on the trade deficit. Therefore, we request the government to consider the problems faced by the local canned fish industry and provide a favourable solution for the industry to survive in the long run,” Fernando said.