சிறிலங்காவின் தேயிலை ஏற்றுமதி, ஆடைகள் ஏற்றுமதி வீழ்ச்சி, பணத்தின் பெறுமதி வீழ்ச்சி

புலம் பெயர்ந்த தமிழர்களே சிறிலங்காவின் பொருட்களைப் புறக்கணித்தால் இன்னும் சிறிலங்காவுக்கு வீழ்ச்சியை ஏற்படுத்தலாம்

Sharp fall in Sri Lanka tea exports

COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lanka, one of the world's biggest tea exporters, registered a 30 percent drop in overseas sales in January because of a decline in the crop, the Sri Lanka Tea Board said on Thursday.

Sales from tea shipments fell to 6.9 billion rupees (61.37 million dollars) in January, compared to 9.8 billion rupees in the same period a year earlier, official figures showed.

Volumes of tea exports also fell 25 percent to 17.76 million kilograms (39.07 million pounds) in January, over the same month in 2008, the board said.

"We are reeling from twin effects of lower rainfall and a deliberate effort to curtail our own production. This has hit our exports in terms of volumes and earnings," Tea Board chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi told AFP.

Russia and former Soviet republics are the largest markets for Sri Lankan tea, accounting for nearly a fifth of total exports, followed by the Middle East and North Africa.

Sri Lanka benefited from the global commodity boom in early 2008, with export earnings hitting a record 1.23 billion dollars for the full year, up from 1.02 billion dollars in 2007.

Tea output also hit a record 318.47 million kilos, up from 305.2 million kilos produced in 2007.

However, with the onset of the global economic meltdown, prices have collapsed to an average of 2.65 dollars a kilo (1.20 dollars a pound) from record highs of 4.26 dollars a kilo between January and September last year.

Growers have also curbed output at the request of the Tea Board to manage high production costs and maintain quality.

The first signs of a drop in the crop were seen in December when output fell by a third to 19.9 million kilos from 29.5 million kilos in the same month a year earlier, Hettiarachchi said.

He expects production to slow down to just over 300 million kilos this year, partly due to high labour and fertiliser prices.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...Cl7H7lm8pBQe9mw

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Garment buyers moving away, shift orders out of Sri Lanka

A recent survey says that from mid-2005 to now, many large international garment buyers shifted their business out of Sri Lanka and into cheaper manufacturing destinations. Over this period, 75 factories, in seven provinces, closed down, and out of this around 24 factories closed down over the past six months. The survey, which was concluded in February 2009, was conducted by a private consultant, Roy Dawson, in the Western, Southern, Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Wayamba and North Western Provinces.

The findings show that many major foreign buyers of Sri Lankan garments shut down their offices in Sri Lanka within the past three years and also shifted their manufacturing orders to other countries.

“Out of around 50 main international garment buyers registered with the Sri Lanka Garment Buying Offices Association, 12 shut down their offices in Sri Lanka within the last three years. These buying offices were shifted mainly to Singapore, India and Pakistan. Production was shifted mainly to India, Bangladesh and Vietnam,” said Mr Dawson.

By now, around 20 steady foreign buyers are no longer operating in Sri Lanka. While the main reason for this shift in business is the comparatively higher cost of production in Sri Lanka, the unstable security situation is also a factor. For instance, buyers felt it was difficult to send technical staff to local factories for periodic factory inspections, because of security worries.

The survey also found that 75 garment factories had closed down in the seven provinces surveyed, from mid-2005 to 2009, and about 24 factories have closed down over the past six months alone. These factories were mainly located in the free trade zones in Katunayake, Biyagama, Koggala and Seethawaka Pura. Some factories were registered under the Board of Investment and some under the Textile Division of the Ministry of Industrial Development. In addition to job losses and foreign exchange losses these garment factory closures have also hit other connected industries.

These include embroidery plants, garment washing plants, corrugated carton manufacturers, label manufactures, thread manufacturers, manufacturers of plastic hangers and poly-bags, transport services providers, shipping lines, freight forwarders, customs clearing agents, food suppliers and subcontractors offering services such as fabric cutting, ironing and packaging.

The survey notes that during the period 1980 to 2004 there were more than 650 large, medium and small scale garment manufacturing plants in the island, offering direct employment to around 450,000 people and indirect employment to another 100,000.

However, since 2005, with the expiry of the Multi Fibre Arrangement and the ending of export quotas, the industry has been shrinking steadily. This is mainly attributed to the higher cost of production in Sri Lanka, compared to other garment manufacturing countries in Asia. The current global recession has also hit the garment industry and over the past six6 months the frequency of factory closures has increased.

- Sunday Times (Sri lanka)

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S.Lanka rupee, shares down amid limbo over IMF

Rupee edges down on importer dollar demand * SLDBs sold at LIBOR +5.4 pct * Shares at 2-month low on war, economic woes By Shihar Aneez COLOMBO, March 17 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's rupee edged down

on Tuesday on importer dollar demand while shares fell to a

two-month closing low in thin trade amid fears over the

economy, corporate earnings and a prolonged war. The rupee <LKR=> edged down to 114.15/25 per dollar, from

Monday's 114.10/20. On Feb. 27 it hit an all-time low of

115.75/95 before the central bank intervened to keep it steady. "Slight importer dollar demand was there," said a currency

dealer. "State banks bought dollars up to 114.15." Dealers and traders said the market is waiting to see an

International Monetary Fund loan and its impacts on the rupee

and exchange rate. The central bank has said the IMF is expected to return to

Sri Lanka before the end of the month to decide on a $1.9

billion loan, aimed at meeting a balance of payments shortfall

and weathering the global financial crisis. [iD:nCOL298469]

-------------------------------------------------------- For Q+A on IMF conditions for the loan see [iD:nCOL381262] For Q+A on where the rupee is heading see [iD:nCOL27614] -------------------------------------------------------- The rupee has fallen 5.45 percent since Oct. 30, after the

central bank allowed depreciation to preserve dollars and

enhance exporter competitiveness. It is down 1.05 percent so

far in 2009.

Sri Lanka sold $184.3 million worth of two-year dollar Sri

Lanka Development Bonds (SLDBs) to repay investors holding

two-year bonds that matured on March 15, at 6-month LIBOR plus

5.4 percent, the central bank said on Tuesday. [iD:nCOL390989] Currency dealers said the SLDBs failed to attrac t investors as the central bank received only $196.25

million worth total bids, slightly lower than its original

target of $200 million. The Colombo All-Share index .CSE fell 0.46 percent or

7.49 points to 1612.33, its lowest close since Jan 15. "It's a lackluster market," said Hussain Gani, associate

director at Asia Securities. "Investors are waiting to see an

end to the war and economic turnaround on possible IMF loan." Shares in conglomerate Aitken Spence SPEN.CM plunged

12.54 percent to 310.50 rupees, calculated on a weighted

average, while top listed private lender Commercial Bank of

Ceylon COMB.CM closed 2.19 percent weaker at 78.25 rupees a

share. Oil retailer Lanka IOC LIOC.CM, a subsidiary of Indian

Oil Corporation (IOC.BO), fell 4.55 percent 15.75 rupees. The bourse is still up 7.3 percent so far this year after

falling 40.8 percent in 2008, largely on corporate earnings

crunched by high borrowing costs that cut growth. Market turnover was 87.8 million rupees ($0.77 million),

below a fifth of the 2008 daily average of 464 million rupees. The interbank lending rate or call money rate CLIBOR

edged down to 11.652 percent from Monday's 11.923 percent. For secondary market rates, please see <0#LKBMK=>.

($1=114.20 Sri Lankan rupees)

(Editing by Bryson Hull)

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustr...L46577020090317

தகவலுக்கு நன்றி கந்த்ஸ். இதை மறைமுகமாக பி.பி.சியிலும் சொல்லியிருந்தார்கள். அருமையான இந்த சந்தர்ப்பத்தில் நாங்களும் புறக்கணிச்சு வேற்றினத்தாரையும் புறக்கணிக்கத் தூண்டினால் அருமையான அடியொண்டு கொடுக்கலாம். எங்கட ஆக்கள் தான் வாய்க்கு ருசி தேவையெண்டு சிங்களவனுக்குக் காசு குடுக்கத் திரியுதுகள். ஏதாவது செய்து இதை நூறு வீத புறக்கணிப்பாக மாற்றவே வேணும்.