The Hon. Major General (Rtd.) G.D. Sooriyabandara

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, I thank you for the opportunity to add my views regarding the regulations made under the Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003.

¶ 02 From this morning, many Hon. Members from both sides have expressed views on these regulations under the IP Act which we expect to operationalize. I will not use time on the history. I intend to present what we expect through these regulations, the benefits to the country and people, and what steps the Government and producers should take.

¶ 03 Many speakers spoke on the “Ceylon Tea” brand. The Hon. Member before me spoke about the fate that befell our “Ceylon Tea” brand. Why did this happen? Through these regulations, we aim to end that adverse situation. In the past, our industries—especially tea—declined because a small number of traders exported low-quality tea for profit. That severely damaged our brand, caused the tea industry to collapse, and brought prices down.

¶ 04 I have before me a chart of last year’s foreign exchange earnings. Historically, our main exports were tea, coconut, and rubber. As of 31 December last year, we earned USD 1,435.9 million from tea, USD 26 million from rubber, USD 416.5 million from coconut, and USD 5,061 million from apparel. The highest was workers’ remittances at USD 6,575.4 million. I state these to show the fate of our once-primary exports—tea, coconut, and rubber. But this does not mean we will continue to decline. If we adopt geographical indications and maintain standards beyond the minimums, producing high-quality goods, our industries can develop.

¶ 05 The FAO, affiliated to the UN, has noted in the preamble to the WTO TRIPS Agreement that this agreement enables development of the agricultural sector worldwide. If we raise quality standards of agricultural products, they will fetch better prices domestically and internationally, encouraging producers, and thereby developing agriculture. Many countries have used GIs to develop agriculture.

¶ 06 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, in the National People’s Power Government’s policy statement, agriculture is given primacy. Our country is based on agriculture; we aim to do much for it, and also develop industry. As earlier stated in this House, we intend to rebuild the broken economy through a production economy, using modern technology to produce high-quality, value-added goods. The Ministry of Agriculture is already working significantly, and through implementation of plans we can produce at higher standards.

¶ 07 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, the people approved our policy statement by a large mandate. As a representative of the Retired Tri-Forces Collective, I must say they made great sacrifices in building that mandate, attracting people to the NPP. I believe that our disciplined, dedicated cohort will support the programme to develop the economy through production, giving us capacity to develop the country.

¶ 08 Finally, under these regulations made under the IP Act, we can elevate especially the agricultural sector, earn more foreign exchange, and give consumers confidence in products. As lawmakers, we will work positively, and producers too must act honestly under these regulations. If we all act together understanding the need, we can earn needed foreign exchange and rebuild our fallen agricultural sector. Thank you.