Sri Lanka’s produce industry is forecasting a rise in the country’s exports by the end of 2012, running counter to an overall decline in exports.
Sivagnanam Gnanaskandan, chairman of the Lanka Fruit and Vegetable Producers’, Processors’ and Exporters’ Association (LFVPPEA) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, said the industry expected growth in fruit and vegetable exports of 3-5 per cent for the 2012 calendar year.
That follows 10.5 per cent growth in Sri Lanka’s fruit and vegetable exports in 2011 to US$36m.
Fruit exports have dragged the average up, while vegetable exports have declined this year, reported Ceylon Today.
For the first six months of the year Sri Lanka’s fruit and vegetable exports tallied up to US$22m, Gnanaskandan said. Fruit exports rose 12 per cent over the period, while vegetable exports fell 18 per cent.
The country’s overall exports fell 5.8 per cent in the year to September, the Ceylon Today reported.
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