Tapping emerging markets key to boosting exports: Hayleys Chairman
Identifying the reason why Sri Lanka’s exports are contributing less to gross domestic product (GDP) and what can be done to reverse this trend are two of the issues explored by Mohan Pandithage, Chairman and CEO of the multinational conglomerate Hayleys, in an interview given to the global publishing, research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG).
Pandithage t old OBG t hat a number of factors had led t o exports falling from 15.4 percent of GDP in 2013 to 14.9 percent the following year. These, he said, ranged from rising competition and a reliance on t he US and Europe, to Sri Lanka’s somewhat narrow basket of goods. The fact that 66 percent of Sri Lanka’s tea is exported to the Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States, which are dependent on petroleum income, presented another challenge, Pandithage added.
“We must find alternative emerging markets for our products to reduce our vulnerability,
A younger generation of plantation workers is reluctant to work on estates. Across our factories we are seeing a shortage of labour
notably Latin America, China, India and South-east Asia,” he said. The businessman told OBG that allowing tea to be blended in the free zones while increasing the focus on adding value to the country’s natural resources, are some of the ways in which Sri Lanka can boost its competitiveness.
The full interview with Pandithage will appear in The Report: Sri Lanka 2016, OBG’s first report on the country’s ec o n o m y. Th e landmark publication will contain a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for i nvestors, alongside contributions from leading industry representatives, including the Softlogic Holdings Chairman Ashok Pathirage, Aitken Spence Deputy Chairman and Managing Director Rajan Brito and Dialog Axiata CEO Hans Wijayasuriya.
In the interview, Pandithage also highlighted the labour challenges that Sri Lanka’s manufacturers and exporters face which, he said, included staff shortages, changing demographics and rigid legislation.
“A younger generation of plantation workers is reluctant to work on estates. Across our factories we are seeing a shortage of labour,” he told OBG.
“Sri Lanka’s labour laws are very challenging. It is very difficult to lay people off and salary demands are often made without a productivity component factored in, particularly on estates. This productivity basis for wages is what we want.”