Sri Lanka Cinnamon Producers Join Forces

Nine major players in the cinnamon industry have joined forces to form U10 Certified Ceylon Cinnamon (CCC) to promote and develop cinnamon exports.

Chairman of the U10 CCC Dr I.R Ferdinand said certified cinnamon will be the driving product for the future of the industry. U10 has already established a system of quality inspection and certification for nine member factories.

ISO 22000 and HACCP certification are vital factors in entering the international markets. U10's quality enforcement mechanisms will upgrade nine existing peeling centres to ISO 22000 certified factory level.

Director of the U10 CCC, Lal de Silva said this year they target to export 100 metric tonnes of cinnamon under U10 and expect to increase the quantity in the future. "We are optimistic that this target could be achieved since there are valuable orders placed by foreign buyers," Mr de Silva said. "Other cinnamon growers and the exporters also could join this new company and improve cinnamon exports."

As the initial stage, the company will focus on certifying local cinnamon according to international standards and then moving for value addition of local cinnamon such as powered cinnamon, cut cinnamon, cinnamon bark oil and cinnamon health capsules. The company expects to negotiate with international buyers for entering into joint ventures.

Consultant of the U10 CCC, Prof. D.N. Weerasinghe said the demand for cinnamon products is increasing in the international market.

"Today industries such as beverage, liquor, pharmaceutical and perfumery use cinnamon as a raw material. Prices of cinnamon in the international market are also increasing. The local cinnamon industry is still adopting traditional methods for peeling which badly impacts the safety and quality standards. There is a high production cost due to high labour charges in the industry," he said.

"The shortage of peelers is another obstacle in the industry," he said. "There is a lack of knowledge on product diversification of the lower part of the supply chain in the industry. Absence in regulatory support for maintaining standards in the industry and absence of transforming information on Colombo auction prices to growers are some of the issues in the industry," he said.

Sri Lanka produces 13,000 metric tonnes of cinnamon every year, 90% of which is exported mainly to Mexico, US and EU.

Source: Daily News, Sri Lanka