Sri Lanka’s Consumer Electronics & Appliances Imports Showed Robust Growth during 2010 - 2011, but Slowed down in 2012

27th February 2013, www.news360.lk

Sri Lanka’s consumer electronics and domestic appliances imports have seen robust growth during the year 2010 and 2011, but has slowed down in the year 2012, with number of products recording a decline in imports both in value and quantity.

A study conducted by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce says, the 2010 and 2011 growth was propelled by the overvalued exchange rate coupled with low interest rates and reduction in taxes applied for the importation of those goods.

The study says, the 2012 moderate growth was due to the sharp fall in the rupee, ceiling on credit and increased cost of borrowing.

The value of imports coming under the HS Chapter 84, which covers a large variety of machinery and parts, classified as investment goods in addition to consumer electronics and domestic appliances have recorded a 66% growth in 2011 and 19% in 2012.

“The growth in imports in this category reflects increasing demand for investment goods as well as demand for durable consumer electronics”, added the Chamber in a statement issued.

The Chamber says the expenditure on importation of electronic machinery and equipment coming under HS Chapter 85 has increased by 57% in 2011 and by 18% in 2012.

As a percentage of total imports, Chapter 84 has accounted for 8.2% and Chapter 85 has accounted for 6% in 2012.

The study finds that the decline in consumer electronic items imported in 2012 has been modest compared to the high rate of growth experienced during 2010 and 2011.

However, the Chamber says, the volume imported of most items in 2012 remains well above the annual average volume of imports during 2005-2009.

“For example the number of household type refrigerators imported increased by 267% in 2011 to reach 167,844 units. In 2012 although quantity imported declined by 26%, the volume of imports of 119,923 units is well above the average of less than 50,000 units per year imported during 2005-2009”, added the Chamber in its findings.

While most products analyzed in the report have recorded a decline in imports in 2012, few products have recorded an increase.

These are air conditioning machines, televisions and mobile phones.

During the year 2011, and 2012, items such as fans, rice cookers and mobile phones have exceeded 1 million units imported per year.

The items where imports exceeded 500,000 units per year in 2011 and 2012 are televisions, electric kettles, electric irons and fruit or vegetable juice extractors.

Items that have recorded imports in excess of 100,000 units a year during 2011 and 2012 are fans, household type refrigerators, portable computers, other types of computers, toasters and radio broadcast receivers.

Personal care electronic items such as shavers, hair clippers, hair removing appliances, hair dryers have recorded a modest growth over the years and the number of units imported of each item still remains below 50,000 units a year.

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SWITCH-Asia Sustainable Consumption and Production for Food & Beverage Sector SMEs Sri Lanka Success Stories

17th March 2012, www.dailynews.lk,

SWITCH-Asia Food and Beverages Project of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce held a mini symposium on Sustainable Consumption and Production recently.

SWITCH-Asia Programme Project Director S.M. Sathiacama, speaking at the event said that the project which was commenced in 2009 helps Small and Medium Enterprises make their production process efficient by conserving energy and translate these savings to profits.

The implementing agency of the project highlighted the importance of food and beverage producers as well as all other manufacturers to be environmentally friendly and adopt practices that conserve energy and resources, CCC Solutions CEO Prema Cooray said.

The event was attended by a large number of the project's stakeholders in the Food and Beverages Industry ranging from plantations to dairy processing companies and representatives from the European Union, the project's funding agency and also personnel from the Ministries of Environment, Finance and Industry and Commerce.

Minister Counsellor, Head of Finance and Contracts of the European Union Wim Prud'homme highlighted the relationship between the European Union and Sri Lanka and its presence in the country for a long period of time and about its grants extended to Sri Lanka to rebuild after the conflict.

A number of stakeholders of the SWITCH-Asia Food and Beverages Project presented their successful case studies and shared their experiences and knowledge thus inspiring more and more organizations to learn and adopt their conservation success stories.

The entities that shared their success stories were: Convenience Food (Lanka) PLC, Dunagaha Coconut Producers Co-operatives Society, Foreconns Canneries Pvt Ltd, Glenugie Tea Processing Centre-Maskeliya Plantation PLC,

Laxapana Tea Processing Centre-Maskeliya Plantation PLC, Maxies and Company Pvt Ltd, Panilkanda Tea Factory-New Saman Group Pvt Ltd and Richlife Dairies Pvt Ltd. (SJ)

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Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Relaunches Enterprise, One of the Oldest Corporate Newsletters in Sri Lanka

17th January 2012, www.ft.lk

Enterprise, the newsletter of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) was re-launched from January this year in printed format. The newsletter will be published every month featuring news and events from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, its associations and business councils, steering committees and projects.

It will also comprise of features relevant to commerce, industry and finance as well as news from its member organisations, which makeup of top corporates and decision makers in the country.

Enterprise is one of the oldest corporate newsletters in the country with its first issue published in as far back as September 1967.

Throughout the years the newsletter has been a quarterly publication, however in order to accommodate the large number of events that take place at the CCC and to keep its members constantly updated, from 2012 the magazine will be a monthly publication.

Enterprise is distributed to members of affiliated associations, business councils of the Chamber, public sector officials, Diplomatic Missions, trade and international organisations, academia and professional bodies.
The interested public can access the newsletter on www.chamber.lk to be informed about the news as well as the upcoming events such as seminars and workshops organised by the CCC.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is an effective spokesman of the Sri Lankan business sector.
Founded in 1839, the institution has been the focal point for business contacts both locally and abroad for more than 172 years.

It has many specialised committees, affiliated associations and 21 bilateral business councils promoting international business.

Read Web Version of Enterprise Newsletter of CCC Here - January 2012


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Susantha Ratnayake Elected as the Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce

29th July 2011, www.dailynews.lk

John Keells and the Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Susantha Ratnayake was elected as the Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce at the 172nd annual general meeting held yesterday. He took over from Dr Anura Ekanayake.

Lion Breweries Director and CEO Suresh Shah was appointed as Deputy Chairman and CIC Managing Director and CEO Samantha Ranatunga was elected Deputy Vice Chairman.

Ratnayake takes over as the 21st Sri Lankan Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. In the 172 year history of the Chamber, the early Chairmen were from amongst the British-origin businessmen in Sri Lanka, until Mallory Wijesinghe took over in 1965.

Several young industry leaders make their appearance in the new committee for 2011/2012. Among them are Husein Essufally (CEO, Hemas Holdings PLC), Sriyan De S Wijeyeratne (Country Manager, Microsoft Sri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd), Vidyani Hettigoda (Director, Hettigoda Group of Companies), Anushman Rajaratnam (Managing Director, Lankem Ceylon PLC), Amanda Weerasinghe (Managing Director, Almar Trading Co. (Pvt) Ltd, Vish Govindasamy (Group Managing Director, Watawala Plantations PLC) Ravi Dias (Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Bank of Ceylon), Manjula de Silva (Managing Director, HNB Assurance Ltd) and Krishan Balendran (President -Corporate Finance, John Keells Holdings PLC).

World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Diarietou Gaye was the chief guest.

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Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Launches Directory of Members 2011-2012, Contact Information of All Main Sectors

05th May 2011, www.ft.lk

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce launched its Directory of Members 2011-2012, a key tool of contact information of all main sectors, today.

This classified information bank contains contact details of chamber members, (exporters, importers, manufactures, processors, producers, service providers and distributors are included), as well as a list of joint ventures, markets, trademarks and brand names together with agents, representatives, traders, suppliers and wholesalers.

The Membership Directory can be obtained from the Foreign Trade and Information Division of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

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Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, CCC Completes 172 Years. The First Chamber Established in Sri Lanka

24th March 2011, www.island.lk

It has been through British rule, independence, a thirty-year conflict and now peace, Sri Lanka’s oldest business chamber, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, celebrates its 172nd anniversary today.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) the legendry institution in the Asia Pacific region, reaches another milestone on March 25, 2011 by completing 172 years of exemplary service to the business community in Sri Lanka.

When CCC was founded on March 25, 1839 under the British Rule, the Coffee industry took precedence over the current prime commodity ‘Tea’ which has now excelled as the leading export commodity in Sri Lanka. The agriculture based services provided by the CCC to its members, gradually elevated to value added services.

Over a period of years, CCC which plays a catalytic role in the development of the business sector, changed its focus on identifying key issues to assist in the development of strategic plans to meet new challenges and opportunities. With the close rapport maintained with the Government sector, the CCC continued to strengthen its role as a channel between the Government and the Private sector.

You may pose a question on how the CCC services differ from the other chamber services. Commencing from the aspect of its identity, CCC is the only Chamber in south Asia with BSENISO 9001:2000 quality Management System Certification and works towards its vision of being the Benchmark Chamber of Commerce in the Asia Pacific Region.

Another factor which adds to its credit is, it has been instrumental in the establishment of several key institutions such as the Employers Federation of Ceylon in 1927, The Mercantile Service Provident Society in 1939, The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors in 2000 and Indo Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2006, to name a few.

The 21 Bi-lateral Councils covering Australia/New Zealand, Africa, Britain, Benelux, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Nordic, Pakistan, The Middle East, Poland, Russia and Singapore which were formed by the Chamber and functions under the aegis of the CCC, focus mainly on promotion of trade, investment, joint ventures, tourism and services between Sri Lanka and the relevant country.

CCC, being the first Chamber to be established in Sri Lanka, is the prime mover of the Chamber movement in Sri Lanka. It was also the first Chamber to be represented in the Senate and House of Representatives in the days of Ceylon, first to be accepted as an affiliate member of Confederation of Asia Pacific Chambers of Commerce & Industry (CACCI) in 1983.

A few other services which were the first of its kind to be introduced by the CCC are the issuance of Certificates of Origin in 1925, introduction of e-Cos, Conduct of Commodity auctions (Tea, Rubber, Spices & Allied Products) from 1894, Gem Auctions in1980, services provided by Measurers/Surveyors/Assessors, Arbitration/Conciliation & Mediation services, the first Sri Lankan export exhibition was organized by the CCC in 1973, Initiated the First Export Awards scheme in association with the then Export Promotion Secretariat, Formation of Bilateral Business Councils in 1979, Launching of CSR awards in 2004, (Global Standard One) GS1 – which is the worldmost accepted standard for supply chain management - bringing Bar-coding Standards to Sri Lanka and the CCC is the sole authorized body in Sri Lanka to operate the GS1 Standards system.

Moreover, CCC has the unique feature of a Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Trade Associations, Regional Chambers, Employer organizations and Bilateral Business Councils in Sri Lanka. The CCC claims this status having formed alliances with 20 Regional Chambers, 38 Trade/Product and service Associations and 21 Bilateral Business Councils.

The CCC Trade Fair Unit which was established in 2002 as the trade promotion wing of the Chamber, through Business Promotion Missions assists members to penetrate, diversify and establish links with overseas markets, whilst promoting expansion of trade and investment. Since its inception, the unit has led missions to 34 potential and untapped markets which have led to the participating delegates obtaining confirmed orders.

The SAARC Trade Information Project is jointly implemented by the SAARC Information Centre (SIC) and Germany Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in collaboration with twenty six leading national partners from both the private and public sectors in all eight SAARC nations. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is a national partner of the SAARC Trade Promotion Network and is the leading Network Partner of the Working Group SAARC Trade Information Portal (SAARC TIP). This portal is an easy accessible trade database for traders including SMEs by connecting existing databases within the SAARC countries to a common SAARC entry point for trade information.

The National Agribusiness Council is the latest affiliate of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and is housed at the Chamber premises – bringing yet another key aspect of the economy under our network.

The Ceylon Chamber also supports regional chambers to contribute more to the national economy - a key initiative taken in this regard is the regional Chambers meeting hosted at the Chamber, where regional issues are brought out and directed to the appropriate channels.

CCC having instituted CCC Solutions (Pvt) Ltd., which began on a firm foundation as a specialized arm to concentrate solely on projects, has been able to contribute immensely to enrich the overall profile of the Chamber. There are three main projects under the purview of this unit, two funded by the European Union and the other by the Norwegian Agency for Development Corporation (NORAD) programme.

The primary objectives of these programmes are to promote Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) in the Food and Beverage Sectors, assist the Hotel Sector in greening and the final one being Business Matchmaking with Norwegian companies. The CORE project (Connecting of Regional Economies) is a USAID project with CCC as the strategic partner to lead the workforce development strategy which was one of the five components structured under this very laudable initiative.

Youth Business Sri Lanka (YBSL) programme is the district expansion of the Hambantota Youth Business Trust (HYBT) which commenced in 1991. Implemented in 40 countries and modeled after the Youth Business International of UK, youth business programmes supports youth to be successful entrepreneurs.

Today the CCC comprises over 500 members with an outreach of over 3500 organisations covering the entire spectrum of the business community. CCC members enjoy a range of benefits. In addition to the above, the Chamber provides the following services:-

Secretarial services to sector associations

Registration of Commercial documents

Seminars/Workshops

Organising Trade Fairs/Exhibitions & events through its Event Management Unit

Trade information

Customised research reports

Business opportunities/Trade promotion bulletins

Economic information

Library facilities

Resolution of commercial disputes

CCC is spearheaded by Dr. Anura Ekanayake, Chairman, Susantha Ratnayake, Vice Chairman and Suresh Shah, Deputy Vice Chairman, Mr Jayampathi Bandaranayake, immediate Past Chairman and the Secretariat is led by Mr. Harin Malwatte, Secretary General/CEO and Alikie Perera, Deputy Secretary General, and is supported by a highly competent and qualified staff.

‘We invite our members and the business community to visit us and familiarize themselves with the range of services provided by us. To get an insight into what we provide, log on to our website www.chamber.lk," Mr. Malwatte stated.

The membership is open to all businesses registered in Sri Lanka. The present membership covers every field of business activity in Sri Lanka and every size of business from sole proprietorship, SMEs, conglomerates to the multinationals.

The Chamber of Commerce is unique in its history, its traditions, its credibility, its membership, its talent base, its potential and, most importantly, in the role it plays in the economy and contemporary Sri Lankan society.

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Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Seminar on Fruits & Vegetables Helps Small & Medium Agro Processing Enterprises

03rd February 2011, www.dailynews.lk

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) organized a very informative seminar focusing mainly on the fruits and vegetables sectors recently. Approximately 40 participants mainly from the agricultural sector and related service organizations attended the seminar.

This seminar was a follow-up of the Roundtable Forum on Small and Medium Agro-Processing Enterprises (SMAE) Development held in Malaysia last month at which IFCO Chairman Sarath De Silva, H J S Condiments Ltd Director A Pathirage and CIC Agribusiness Agri Education, Training and Consultancy for National Agriculture Development General Manager Senarath de Zoysa participated.

These three representatives shared the experience they gained at the forum with their fellow members. Sarath Silva who made the presentation spoke on the business models for procurement from small farmers, product innovation, differentiation, branding and labelling, quality management and compliance with standards, supply chain efficiency and logistics, enabling policies and public goods, financial services and the private sector support institutions such as commodity associations, Chambers of Agriculture and Commerce, Industry Federations etc.

Silva, Pathirage and De Zoysa agreed to assist those interested in aspects of modern training practices and any other advice relevant to the fruits, vegetables and agriculture sectors.

Image: From left - CSC Agribusiness (Pvt) Ltd Agri Education General Manager Senarath De Zoysa, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Secretary General and CEO Harin Malwatte, IFCO Chairman Sarath De Silva and HJS Condiments Ltd, Director Ananda Pathirage.

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Joint Tourism Promotion between Sri Lanka and Maldives Emphasised

08th November 2010, www.dailymirror.lk

The Third Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka - Maldives Bilateral Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held on 28 October, 2010 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo.

Addressing the gathering, Patron of the Council, Ali Hussain Didi, High Commissioner for the Republic of Maldives in Colombo emphasised the importance of streamlining the regulatory framework in Sri Lanka and joint tourism promotion between Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives. He further invited the business community in Sri Lanka to invest in Maldives in the health and education sector.

Jayantissa Kehelpannala, Immediate Past President of the Council during his speech urged the council to look beyond the horizon to make the Council a dynamic force that will be active in the frontline of the many business opportunities that are emerging in both our countries and in the SAARC region. He further stated that Trade between Sri Lanka and the Maldives has been bumpy but seen significant value over the last five years.

Throughout the period, exports from Sri Lanka to the Maldives have been higher than imports to Sri Lanka, resulting in positive balance of trade between Sri Lanka and Maldives. However, during 2009, exports have drastically decreased mainly due to the global financial crisis. However, imports from Maldives to Sri Lanka have shown a slight increase during the period under review. The tourism sector has shown a slight increase in 2009 amounting to 31,890 tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka from Maldives compared to 31,458 in 2008.

The newly appointed President of the Council, Hussain Hashim during his brief remarks stated that based on the performance indicators mentioned, there is a strong sense of responsibility that lies on the council to actively further develop trade performance for the betterment of these two "island nations" in the SAARC region.

Hashim thanked the outgoing office bearers for setting high standards for the council and requested the support of the newly appointed committee to implement the way forward strategy of the Sri Lanka - Maldives Bilateral Business Council with special emphasis on joint tourism promotion, Education and HR Development, lobby with the respective Govt. Institutions in Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives through the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to reciprocate on harmonising tariff structures based on the findings of the study carried out by the council for export of fruits and vegetable from Sri Lanka to Maldives and import of value added Fisheries products to Sri Lanka from Maldives, venture into technology transfer from Sri Lanka to Maldives for Agri sector development in inhabited islands, using hydro phonics and other advanced agro development techniques. Output of this initiative will be marketed to resorts in the Maldives.

The following Committee was appointed for the period 2010 - 2011 at the Annual General Meeting -
Office Bearers - Hussain Hashim - President, Tikiri Ellepola - Vice President, Niral Kadawatharatchi - Vice President

Committee - Ceylon Biscuits Ltd., Chemical Industries (Colombo) Plc, Eastern & Allied Agencies, E.B. Creasy & Co. Ltd., John Keells Holdings Plc, HSBC, Nestle Lanka Ltd., Pyramid Wilmar Ltd. and Seylan Bank Plc

Sri Lanka-Italy Business Council Holds AGM

27th August 2010, www.dailynews.lk

The 11th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka - Italy Business Council was held recently at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The Council, which focuses on the objectives of 'promoting investment, trade and joint venture between Sri Lanka and Italy', is one of the twenty bilateral business councils that function under the aegis of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Groundwork for the formation of the Council was laid by a proposal.

Ambassador Designate for Italy in Sri Lanka Rubens Fedele, and chief guest said he looked forward to working closely with the Council and said that he would like to hear from the membership of any issues faced by them and invited the membership to contact himself or Deputy Head of Mission Dr. Gianluca Rubagotti, if there was any way in which the Embassy could assist them.

Ranmal International (Pvt) Ltd Managing Director, Ranjit Jayewardene was re-elected as President of the Council for the year 2010-2011. He reiterated that the incoming Committee would encourage joint ventures between Sri Lanka and Italy, exchange information on trade and investment, conduct joint meetings with Italian business organizations in Sri Lanka and Italy and will serve as a recognized representative of the business sector interests in Sri Lanka. Jayewardene said that with the assistance of the Italian Embassy, the Council is pursuing a program named 'Invest your talent in Italy', where Italian Universities are promoted overseas. A delegation from Italy is expected shortly for further discussions.

Aus Afrasia Design Tiles (Pvt) Ltd CEO/Managing Director, Daya Ratnayake and Hellmann Worldwide Logistics (Pvt) Ltd Managing Director, Tania Polonnowita were appointed as Vice Presidents.

The committee comprises Allied Trading and Engineering (Pvt) Ltd. CEO, Raja Abeysinghe, Aitken Spence Travels Ltd. Director, Niranjan Rodrigo, Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC, Chairman/Managing Director, Sunil Wijesinha, Jetwing Travels (Pvt) Ltd., Senior Manager, Daminda Dinesh, Lanka Tiles PLC, Managing Director, Mahendra Jayasekera, Mackwoods Ltd., Marketing Director, Arjuna Yatawara, Sherman Sons Trading (Pvt) Ltd. Managing Director, Gihan De Silva and The Autodrome PLC, Joint Managing Director Rajeev Aloysius.
More Info:
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Launch of the Sri Lanka–Vietnam Business Council Sets Target of $100mn for Trade Volumes by 2012

13th May 2010, www.news.lk

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be establishing the Sri Lanka – Vietnam Business Council in June 2010 as the 21st Business Council under its aegis.

This initiative was proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a recommendation of the Second Session of the Sri Lanka – Vietnam Joint Commission held in August 2009 to further expand trade relationships between Sri Lanka and Vietnam. In addition, His Excellency the President, Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa during a state visit to Vietnam in
October, 2009 also emphasized the importance of strengthening the relationship between Sri Lanka and Vietnam and set the target of US$ 100 million for two way trade volumes by 2012.

The launch of the Council is coinciding with the visit of the Hon. Deputy Minister of Trade & Industry, His Excellency Le Duong Quang who will be present on this occasion as the Chief Guest together with a 16 member trade delegation from Vietnam. The tentative date of the launch would be on June 07 at the “Sri Lanka – Vietnam Business Forum” organsied by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in association with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Vietnam has seen exponential growth during the last four years. At the end of 2005, the trade between the two countries stood at US $ 30.5 million. However, this had increased to US $ 60.9 million by the end of 2008. This trend has continued in the year 2009. Although the trade balance has been in
favour of Vietnam, the value of Sri Lankan goods being exported to Vietnam has also increased. The total value of Sri Lankan exports to Vietnam which stood at US $ 10.4 million at the end of 2005 had increased to US $ 21.6 million by end of 2008.

Vietnam has now firmly established itself as one of the most rapidly developing countries in the region with many nations eager to get a foothold in to its emerging markets. Since the end of the conflict in Sri Lanka and the successful completion of the Second Joint Commission Session, the Vietnamese side has also expressed interest to further investment and trade opportunities in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Promotion Mission to Benelux Countries in May

08th April 2010, www.dailynews.lk

The Sri Lanka - Benelux Business Council of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be organizing a trade and investment promotion mission to Netherlands (Amsterdam and Hague), Belgium (Brussels) and Luxembourg from May 24 to 29.

The main objective of the mission is to strengthen trade ties, source suitable business partners for trade, investments, joint ventures, technology transfer and services. It is hoped that this mission would assist in expanding existing business contacts.

The Sri Lanka Embassies in Netherlands and Belgium will be organizing business forums and business match making events in association with Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Hague, Brussels and Luxembourg Chambers of Commerce. The potential products and services identified for promotion are; tourism, gems and jewellery, garments, coir products, rubber products, tea, horticulture, information technology , fish (tuna), wooden and soft toys and stationery and imports such as sugar and pharmaceuticals.