Sri Lankan pavilion opens at world’s largest agricultural trade fair

In the presence of the EU-Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski and the Governing Mayor of Berlin Michael Mueller, German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner, Sri Lanka State Minister of Agriculture Vidura Wickramanayake and Chief Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka Andreas Hergenroether officially opened the Sri Lankan pavilion at the ‘International Green Week’ (IGW) in Berlin on 17 January. The Sri Lankan pavilion was fully organised by the delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka (AHK Sri Lanka) to promote Sri Lankan food products at international level.

The 85th edition of IGW takes place from 17 to 26 January in Berlin. It is recognised as the world’s largest trade fair for food, agriculture and gardening. More than 1800 exhibitors, including 620 international exhibitors from 61 countries, display their products at this trade fair and over 400,000 visitors, including 200 foreign ministers and secretaries of state, will be present during the 10-day gala event. Over 300 food and agriculture related forums and conferences is also set to take place in parallel to the fair.

Speaking to the media, Hergenroether stated, “AHK Sri Lanka took this initiative to raise awareness of the brand ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ in food and agri products among global giants, to enhance business opportunities for valued Sri Lankan products and exporters and there’s no better place than IGW for this course.” Further, Hergenroether mentioned that it is very important for Sri Lanka to be present at these international fairs to build confidence among the international players to increase export volumes. 

Eight Sri Lankan companies – Climex Ltd., D&R Exports, TastenutLK, Trans Food Lanka, Cosmoveda Ceylon, Jaindi Exports, Agstar PLC and Liya International – participated at the pavilion. Many international visitors and media were attracted to the Sri Lankan pavilion to experience the wide range of authentic Sri Lankan food – coconut-based products, organic products, tea, spices, fruits, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and famous Sri Lankan street food (kottu, hoppers etc.) – on display.

Furthermore, AHK Sri Lanka arranged B2B meetings between international buyers, supermarket chains and distribution companies and the Sri Lankan participants to discuss business opportunities for the future. Sri Lankan exporters, speaking to the media, noted, “This is a huge opportunity to promote Sri Lanka and its traditional ethnic food and beverage to the global market, especially for tea, spices, coconut products, and ‘Ready to Eat’ and ‘Ready to Drink’ product ranges.

As the official representative of German-Sri Lankan business relations in Sri Lanka, AHK Sri Lanka is always committed to fair business and sustainable long-term business relations. AHK Sri Lanka offers the ideal platform to create business opportunities for both Sri Lankan and German companies.