India ascends in North

Sri Lanka yesterday welcomed India’s largest business chamber ASSOCHAM on the sidelines of the eighth edition of the Jaffna International Trade Fair 2017 (JITF), which aims to increase trade and investment in the region.  

Speaking at the event, held at the Jaffna Library auditorium, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen said that, despite shortcomings, the Northern Province has seen unprecedented growth over the years.

“The provincial GDP of Northern Province is the smallest among all provincial GDPs in Sri Lanka. In 2015, Northern Province GDP was $2.6 billion only. It is a mere 3.5% of Sri Lanka’s total GDP. The biggest GDP province, the Western Province showed a total of $31 billion” he said.

 “However, the Northern Province has been the fast growing province among all provinces. For example, in 2011-2012, Northern Province GDP growth was a huge 26%. In 2012-2013, it was at 12.1%. According to the latest 2014-2015 data, the highest provincial GDP growth was reported equally by two provinces; and I am pleased to say that the Northern Province is one of these two leading GDP growth provinces, at 12.1% YoY growth.”

 These growth numbers are reported in the Northern-Province despite some critical issues that the province is facing such as the lack of industrial and other infrastructure, human resources, economic and business information, and private sector investment.

The Minister was joined by Consul General of India in Jaffna Shri. A. Natarajan, President of the  Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Yarlpanam K. Vignesh, Founder Chairman of JITF Kosala Wickramanayake, Chairman- Fair Council of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Vinay R Sharma, and Secretary General/CEO, National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka Shiham Marikkar..

The Indian chamber is leading a 75-member strong Indian delegation to JITF 2017 – an initiative endorsed by the Industry and Commerce Ministry. JITF 2017 is a three day event with 350 exhibitor stalls. According to the organiser Lanka Exhibition & Conference Services (LECS), last year’s JITF attracted 60,000 visitors and has become a must-attend business event.

Sharma, addressing the gathering, emphasised the entry of his Chamber to Sri Lanka as a pioneering initiative. “This is the first time ASSOCHAM is entering Sri Lanka in this way and we are here to partner with Sri Lankan businesses in joint ventures, partnerships and even new business openings in many sectors including automotives and textiles,” he said.

“We also find the South of Sri Lanka is now saturated for Indian businesses with less and less opportunities, but Jaffna is still a virgin market for us, offering large and untapped potential to our member base, which exceeds 475,000 firms. Most importantly, many of the firms in this delegation to Jaffna are looking to partner with Sri Lankan companies that are sick or are on the verge of closure or even already closed down – at whatever size or level. We are ready to partner or acquire and revive them.”

 Total trade between India and Sri Lanka was at almost $5 billion in 2015.  India also became the largest supplier to Sri Lanka in 2015 with 22.5% of Sri Lanka’s imports in 2015 coming from India. China was second at 19.7% and EU next at 9.5%. 

Sri Lanka’s exports to India also rose a marginal 3.2% to $645 million in 2015 from $625 million in 2014.