Sri Lankan export promotion authorities have developed local versions of international agricultural and manufacturing practices to help certified exporters get better access to European markets, an official said.
The initiative was being tried out with fruit and vegetable exporters many of whom do not follow good practices, said Indira Malwatta, chairperson of the Export Development Board (EDB).
“We are doing GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice),” she said, referring to systems for ensuring that products are consistently produced, packed and supplied according to quality standards and subject to audits.
“For the fruit and vegetable sector we introduced local Good Agricultural Practices with European Union aid through the ITC (International Trade Center),” she told a business forum.
Over 550 farmers now are entitled to use Sri Lankan GAP which will be a natural graduation to getting international certification,” Malwatta said.
“If you are to export processed products to the EU market we have to be able to trace it down to where you got the vegetables.
“For that you need global GAP certification. In all these cases EDB has money to help companies to do GAP certification in Sri Lanka.
Source: economynext.com
