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EDB sets sail to save SL Boats and Ship exports

24 Mar 2021

The Export Development Board (EDB) has evaluated various programmes to promote locally manufactured boats and ships, which have taken a drastic toll due to the challenges influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, The Morning Business learns.  Speaking to us, an EDB spokesperson stated that the plummeting export figures of the boat and ship building industry have been acknowledged and several measures have been taken to promote the industry for the years ahead.  “The Export Development Board is continuously adjusting this industry to promote this trade. For instance, we have had virtual meetings with other countries to support this industry,” the EDB spokesperson revealed.  In elaboration, they highlighted that the EDB has had several virtual meetings with countries such as Turkey and Oman, with assistance provided by the Sri Lankan Embassies in the relevant countries to introduce or promote this trade.  In addition, EDB also reported that the Boat Show and Boating Festival in Sri Lanka was another strategy that has been evaluated to promote the exports of the industry itself which occurs every two years.  “In addition, we have a boat show and boating festival which is held once every two years. The festival was supposed to take place last year, however, due to the restriction imposed by the pandemic, it did not take place,” the EDB Spokesperson commented.  Additionally, organised by Boat Building Technology Improvement Institute (BTI) and EDB, in association with the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and the Ministry of Ports and Shipping, one of South Asia’s most focused and largest international boating festivals, Boat Show and Boating Festival Sri Lanka 2018, was held in October 2018 at the Galle Yacht Marina of the Galle Port.  The event aforementioned was reportedly organised to showcase the country’s capabilities in recreational boating and yachting, nautical tourism, and boat building, and to attract buyers and related services for export and local markets. Nevertheless, it was highlighted that the EDB is currently looking into the possibility of the festival taking place late-2021 or next year, 2022. One of the other reasons apart from the challenges influenced by the pandemic involved the time taken to manufacture each customised ship or boat.  “The construction of each boat or ship takes a considerably long amount of time. It may take up to seven months, or in some cases one year, to manufacture each boat or ship. This is because this trade involves customised products rather than readily available products,” the EDB spokesperson explained.  They further elaborated on the procedure of manufacturing the product to export it to other countries, where it is highlighted that the product is exported only after the complete requirement of the customised product has been fulfilled.  Consequently, as this procedure requires an estimated period of seven to 12 months per boat or ship, a delivered requirement that is exported and recorded was manufactured seven to 12 months prior to the delivery, causing fluctuations in records.  Furthermore, according to the export figures from the previous year of 2020, the boat and ship building industry in the country recorded a total of $ 2.3 million in exports.  Thereby, compared to exports of $ 65 million recorded in the prior-year 2019, it may appear that the trade’s exports have plummeted by $ 63 million.   According to EDB boat and ship building industry facts, one of the most successful years for this industry dated back to 2017 where the export revenue rose to $ 279 million, and the EDB expects the figures to rise when the promotions evaluated pick up the exports where it was left off.  The export figures of this industry in the present year of 2021 amount to $ 0.31 million  (13.4% of the export figures in 2020) for the past two months of January and February. A potential EDB objective could also involve gradually matching the figures that the industry achieved four years ago, again. 


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