The Export Development Board (EDB) of Sri Lanka is in the process of introducing the first geographical indication (GI)-certified (Ceylon) cinnamon products to the market by this October, The Daily Morning Business learnt.
Speaking to The Daily Morning Business, EDB Director - Export Agriculture Janak Badugama said: “Hopefully, by around October or the end of this year, our target is to introduce the first GI (cinnamon) products to the international market. Right now, we (the EDB) are complying with the process.”
He noted that achieving the certificate was a Herculean task in order to find the traceability, which comprises cultivation, collection, processing, packaging, exporting, and consuming, according to the GI guidelines.
Moreover, the EDB has conducted seminars on how to maintain international GI standards in maintaining Ceylonese quality in cinnamon under the GI Association - which is networked to each district in the country that harvests cinnamon - while the audits are also to be conducted in this regard.
When The Daily Morning inquired about the market for Ceylon cinnamon following the GI certificate, he responded saying, “GI means the value addition,” which is expected to have a recognition in the global market.
Sri Lanka received its first-ever GI certification when the European Commission (EC) on 2 February 2022 granted GI status to Ceylon cinnamon. It was led by the EDB under the Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Food Security, with the support of numerous public and private stakeholders.
During this, technical assistance was provided by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the delegation of the EU to Sri Lanka, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), while some financial assistance was granted by the Common Fund for Commodities, based in the Netherlands.
Last year, the EDB also collaborated with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Turkey to promote Ceylon cinnamon in Turkey after obtaining GI status for cinnamon by organising a briefing session on Sri Lankan spices - including Ceylon cinnamon - to Turkish supply chain distributors and retailers engaged in the spice sector of the said country. The representatives of Turkish Spice Packaged Spice Producers Association (ABUDER), trade chambers, and Turkish media participated in this event.