Hon. Namal Karunaratne - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
Acknowledging concerns raised, the Deputy Minister said Sri Lanka’s minor export crops, including pepper, have strong premium-market demand but had faced reputational damage from past malpractices involving re-exports labelled as Sri Lankan. He said corrective action is being taken with the Trade Ministry and the Food Security Committee, while the Government is distributing planting material, providing inputs, and expanding export villages. He also noted proposals to promote value addition, including a pepper oil plant, and to address crop disease through research and management programmes.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, your points are well taken. Our minor export crops have strong demand and premium markets; Sri Lankan pepper outperforms in aroma and pungency. In the past, there were malpractice issues—re-exports under “Made in Sri Lanka” labels using foreign supplies—creating reputational damage. We are correcting these through coordination with the Trade Ministry and the Food Security Committee.
¶ 02 We are distributing free planting material, providing inputs, and expanding export villages. We recognize the need to move from raw exports to value-added products. Your suggestion on a pepper oil plant and attention to the disease issue are noted; we are aligning programmes to support value addition and necessary research and management.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 5 March 2026 ·No. 23375 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. Namal Karunaratne - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 March 2026. No. 23375. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/6911