The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna
Sri Lanka’s annual cashew kernel demand is about 25,000 MT, while the projected 2025 domestic harvest is only around 15,000 MT, with demand rising due to tourism. The Minister stated that 5,000 MT of imports had been authorized to protect supply while safeguarding local growers, related industries, and jobs, with licences issued for about 3,000 MT so far. He said the Government would promote local production and coordinate with agencies such as the Consumer Affairs Authority to address substandard or mixed cashew imports, while guiding importers toward quality sources including Tanzania and other African suppliers.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, our annual kernel requirement is around 25,000 MT, which we do not fully produce domestically. With tourism growing, demand has increased. For 2025, we projected only about 15,000 MT harvest. While protecting local growers and dependent industries and jobs, we authorized imports of 5,000 MT. As of yesterday, licenses had been issued for around 3,000 MT. We will strive to meet demand while promoting local production. Regarding substandard or mixed cashews entering the country, stopping that is primarily within the remit of agencies like the Consumer Affairs Authority; we will alert and coordinate with them. We have guided importers towards quality sources like Tanzania and parts of Africa.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 22 January 2026 ·No. 23203 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/22431
Cite as: The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 22 January 2026. No. 23203. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/22431