Sri Lanka: EU demand for organic food presents opportunities

According to an organic products exporter from the Netherlands, Sri Lanka has tremendous potential t…

According to an organic products exporter from the Netherlands, Sri Lanka has tremendous potential to get into the organic product export market, because the demand for such products in the entire EU region is growing exponentially.

"Where the European market is concerned, the demand for organic products is growing tremendously. In 2014, the demand for organic products in the area of consumable items touched 7.4 percent and the growth in organic production and the increase of farm lands for these purposes rose by one percent, Head, Dutch Organic International, Poppe Braam said at a seminar organized by Ma's Tropical Food Processing (Pvt) Limited on Tuesday 26 July. The theme of the event was "The sustainable food business: Opportunities for sustainable Sri Lankan Food Business in the growing global organic and fair trade sectors".

Braam said that his company has two top brands, namely, "La Bio Idea" and "Amazin", both organic products exported exclusively to other European Union countries in the region. But the main issues are that their supply is not ample to meet the demand and that seven top brands in the region are dominating the market, he said.

He said that Sri Lanka could export high quality organic products like coconut and pineapple to the European Union countries in the region because those products are neither available nor grown in the region and don't measure up to Sri Lankan standards, Braam said.

The representative from a top organic food supplier in Japan Alishan Organics Japan, John Bayles, said that the demand for value added products, such as organic products, is increasing in Japan.

"Sri Lanka has a lot of opportunities to tap the Japanese market because Sri Lanka could supply them with better quality standards, he said.

At present Sri Lanka, Thailand and India are the main organic products suppliers for Japan but due to the high demand for organic products it has a big demand in Japan nevertheless, he said.

Managing Director Ma's Tropical Food Mario de Alwis said that Sri Lanka is now slowly but steadily getting used to organic products because the government is promoting sustainable food habits.