Saudi Arabia allows Coco-peat supply for its national tree planting project
Sri Lanka Coconut Development Authority (CDA) is now actively working to obtain technical information from Saudi Arabia following the decision of the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture recently to allow the export of Cocopeat for their massive national tree planting programme, Chairman of the Authority Prof. Roshan Perera told the Business Times.
The CDA has written to the Foreign Ministry to obtain this technical information from Saudi Arabian authorities with the intervention of the Sri Lankan embassy there, he disclosed, sorting out an earlier issue over these exports.
He noted that the CDA will provide all the necessary technical requirement details to private Coco-peat companies enabling them to begin export procedure after obtaining the registration as a supplier of Coco-peat.
Saudi contractors involved in the project are entrusted with the task of selecting suitable Sri Lankan companies and the CDA will not intervene in the export procedure other than the testing of quality standards and other normal local export requirements, Prof. Perera explained.
The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has given the green light for Sri Lanka recently following evaluation of their three member technical team‘s report submitted after their observation visit to several local coir peat manufacturing and export companies in the island .
The Saudi government had complained to Sri Lankan authorities that an official has tried to exert undue influence on a team of Saudi state officials who visited the island to inspect the process of producing coco peat.
It has prompted the Saudi authorities to suspend their decision to allow Sri Lankan companies to begin the export procedure.
Clarifying this issue, Prof. Perera noted that there was a complaint against the conduct of a contract officer of the CDA who participated in these observation visits and a disciplinary inquiry was conducted and his services terminated.
This was confirmed by former secretary of the Exporter Association of Coconut Based Substrates Chamara Udayanga who said that CDA chairman has taken prompt action to settle this matter and he took necessary action to regain the consent of the Saudi authorities even tendering apology to the Saudi government via the Foreign Ministry.
He noted that coco peat companies waited eagerly for almost four months after the Saudi technical team’s visit to Sri Lanka to hear some good news relating to this unprecedented opportunity.
According to Tharaka Balasuriya, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, the ministry has received a complaint from Saudi that a high-ranking official of the CDA tried to exert undue influence on a team of Saudi state officials who visited the island to inspect the process of producing Coco-peat.
The Foreign Ministry had tendered an apology and took measures to pacify Saudi authorities, he added.