Sri Lanka’s ayurveda industry’s healthy potential for growth on show
Saturday, 13 July 2013 00:38
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The high potential for the ayurveda industry came under fresh spotlight yesterday with the opening of a three-day international exhibition in Colombo. The significance of the industry and the need to encourage its development was manifested by the presence of several Government Ministers at the opening of the International Ayurveda 2013 Expo at the BMICH.
Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa was the Chief Guest and was joined by Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, Indigenous Medicine Minister Salinda Dissanayake and Deputy Minister Pandu Bandaranayake as Guests of Honour.
Organised by the National Chamber of Commerce (NCCSL) for the fourth consecutive year, the exhibition aims at increasing trade and investment in ayurveda and the native healthcare sector. This year, the exhibition which runs till Sunday has over 120 stalls with nine companies from India and Japan.
The NCCSL revealed that one-to-one business meetings will be organised for Sri Lankan ayurveda professionals, businessmen, industrialists and investors to meet their overseas counterparts at ayurveda Expo 2013.
In addition to this, a medical symposium will be held today on traditional medicine featuring speakers from India, Thailand, Germany and China who will present research findings on the subject.
The exhibition will focus mainly on wellness, lifestyle and healing, ayurveda medicine, nature friendly health food, acupuncture, yoga, meditation, sidda, unani and homeopathy, herbal cosmetic producers, health resorts and health spas.
At the exhibition opening, Minster Bathiudeen said that there was a rise in demand for ayurveda medicine in the beauty care, health food and beverage industries.
“Our total medicament exports in all categories in 2012 stood at US$ 3.5 million, increasing by 3.8% over 2011’s exports. We exported US$ 260,000 of ayurvedic products alone in 2012. This is a strong 95% increase, in comparison to 2010’s ayurveda exports,” he said to the audience, which consisted of top officials of ministries, private companies and visiting international delegates from Japan, Pakistan, India, China, South Africa and Thailand.
Noting that the leading buyers of the country’s herbal products are Australia, Maldives, Japan and Albania, Bathiudeen observed that the surging tourism in Sri Lanka is a growth driver for the local ayurveda industry. “We hope that the international delegates will extend their views and promote investment in Sri Lanka,” he said, and added that this is a new export opportunity for the country.
Commending the NCCSL on its initiative in promoting the local ayurveda industry to international markets, Minister of Indigenous Medicine Salinda Dissanayake during his speech expressed that the exhibition is an encouragement for the Ministry as it is in the midst of developing a South Asian centre for traditional medicine in Sri Lanka.
Stating that the future of the health sector of the country will soon be based on traditional medicine, he said: “My vision and mission is to develop the traditional medicine system in Sri Lanka along with the national integrated medicine system.”
International Ayurveda 2013 Expo organising committee Chairman and NCCSL Senior Deputy President Thilak Godamanna justified the relevance of the exhibition by stating that there was a noticeable change in the lifestyle of the local community as they are becoming increasingly interested in the traditional medicine system.
“With the exhibition, the objective is to increase the momentum in ayurveda and the expertise available in this industry. Furthermore, we want to expose to the world the availability of a unique traditional system for medicine in Sri Lanka,” Godamanna added.
Supporting the Ayurveda Expo 2013 are the Ministry of Indigenous Medicine, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Authority and Sri Lanka Conventions Bureau.
