The government has decided to suspend the gazette notification published recently allowing the import of several types of spices, including pepper, for re-export, the Agriculture Ministry said.
They said the government had issued a gazette notification allowing the import of some spices grown in Sri Lanka, such as pepper, nutmeg, mace (Vasavasi), turmeric, ginger, and cardamom, for re-export.
Following yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera expressed his opposition regarding the relevant gazette announcement.
He pointed out that by allowing the import of these spices for re-exports, the local spice farmer is discouraged, and therefore the cultivation of local spice products collapses. Also, the minister pointed out that this will have a strong impact on the quality of spices in Sri Lanka, which currently ranks first among the best spices in the world.
Minister Amaraweera said that, taking these facts into consideration, the Cabinet had decided to suspend the relevant gazette announcement and to suspend the import of spices to Sri Lanka for re-export.
The minister also mentioned that the attention of the Cabinet was focused on conducting a long study to further maintain the quality of local spices and the role to be played by the government to further grow local spices as plantation crops.
