I don’t understand why it is so difficult to get into India. Clearly, the Tata Group thinking is that your papers are in order and there's something wrong with the diplomatic process between the two countries. Is there some problem with the diplomats? I mean - that could be one reason why the papers are not going forward.
It’s nice of the Tatas to try and keep you employed. It goes to prove, once again, the benefits of working with the Tata Group as compared to working with any other group in India. I’m sure, if something like this had happened to someone in UBS, they wouldn’t even bother to hire a lawyer… They’d just get on with their lives.
If they offer you a position like Finance Head in the Taj Samudra, it should be some learning. Who knows what life has in store? Come back to India and open your own hotel - It makes sense with the kind of tariffs in Bangalore..!!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
First Signs of Pessimism
“I have a feeling it’s likely to be longer haul. The relatively better exploration would be to try and seek an employment opportunity outside India, which we are also trying.”
– Manoj Chakravarti
– Manoj Chakravarti
Stopping a Galloping Beast
A good economist is a lot like inflation – difficult to keep down. And Harsha de Silva, Lead Economist, LIRNEasia, was as irrepressible as they come when The Sunday Times FT cornered him on the sidelines of a public event for an exclusive chat.
During de Silva’s presentation earlier, he had highlighted a graph indicating a high correlation between inflation and the Central Bank’s (CBSL) net credit to government. That represents extra money that was printed, he explained, which resulted in inflation.
In Zimbabwe, inflation rockets skyward at the incredible rate of 3,700% per annum. “In such an economy, it is more appropriate to measure inflation by the day,” quips de Silva. While Sri Lanka’s inflation – at 16% - seems tame in comparison, it is still the country’s economic enemy number one.
“Prices have been going up because of irresponsible printing of money by the CBSL,” says de Silva. “Since January, they have stopped printing money because they were forced to.” The good news is that if printing money pushes up inflation, stopping will bring it down as fast. That will happen “if Cabraal and crowd walk the talk”, says de Silva.
Explaining that monetary policy has also been tightened, de Silva says, "There are two things CBSL can do to reduce inflation: stop printing money – which they have done – and increase interest rates – which they are now doing.”
The flip side of the coin is that borrowings are becoming more expensive for corporate entities. “Even the prime lending rate is in excess of 20% - and that can be accessed only by AAA-rated companies like Hayleys and John Keells. Small-timers have to pay 30%-plus.” Doing some crystal ball-gazing, de Silva predicts that interest rates will descend only when inflation declines to 10%.
During de Silva’s presentation earlier, he had highlighted a graph indicating a high correlation between inflation and the Central Bank’s (CBSL) net credit to government. That represents extra money that was printed, he explained, which resulted in inflation.
In Zimbabwe, inflation rockets skyward at the incredible rate of 3,700% per annum. “In such an economy, it is more appropriate to measure inflation by the day,” quips de Silva. While Sri Lanka’s inflation – at 16% - seems tame in comparison, it is still the country’s economic enemy number one.
“Prices have been going up because of irresponsible printing of money by the CBSL,” says de Silva. “Since January, they have stopped printing money because they were forced to.” The good news is that if printing money pushes up inflation, stopping will bring it down as fast. That will happen “if Cabraal and crowd walk the talk”, says de Silva.
Explaining that monetary policy has also been tightened, de Silva says, "There are two things CBSL can do to reduce inflation: stop printing money – which they have done – and increase interest rates – which they are now doing.”
The flip side of the coin is that borrowings are becoming more expensive for corporate entities. “Even the prime lending rate is in excess of 20% - and that can be accessed only by AAA-rated companies like Hayleys and John Keells. Small-timers have to pay 30%-plus.” Doing some crystal ball-gazing, de Silva predicts that interest rates will descend only when inflation declines to 10%.
Aid and Economic Sovereignty
The 1990s were marked by a series of crises that posed a challenge to the international financial and monetary system. These crises made it obvious that international capital flows bring concomitant risks, besides the visible benefits.
The relationship between countries and international financial institutions (IFIs) has more substantial effects on the changing nature of state sovereignty in the developing world. This week, ‘Aid and Sovereignty: Role of International Financial Institutions in Developing Countries’ was the subject of a panel discussion at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies.
In the context of globalization, Dr M Ganeshamoorthy, Department of Economics, University of Colombo, described economic sovereignty as “the ability of a state to control its own economy in response to its own needs”.
Dr Ganeshamoorthy provided a litmus test of whether a nation is economically sovereign: “It should keep its own currency; it should trade with whomever it chooses to; it should control imports and exports; and it should regulate its currency to protect against speculation, if necessary.” By that framework, he points out, the introduction of the Euro was not compatible with the principle of economic sovereignty. He describes the tendency of World Bank, IMF and WTO to get increasingly and extensively involved in the domestic economic affairs of its members as a kind of ‘neo-colonialism’.
Prof. Nira Wickramasinghe, Department of International Relations, University of Colombo, delivered a message replete with events from history. She questioned the relevance of IFIs and examined the evolution of their roles. Tracing the history of IFIs, she said, “Since the late 1970s, they have provided loans to support economic reforms – currency, exchange and short-term balance of payment.” That role is being challenged, however, with other countries (like China, for Asia) taking on the mantle of lender and developer.
“Aid budgets are being spent on overpriced consultants instead of on real projects,” Prof. Wickramasinghe said. Providing the example of education in Sri Lanka, she contrasted the ‘so much money pumped in’ resulting in ‘declining levels of knowledge of university entrants’. Taking issue, Harsha de Silva, Lead Economist, LIRNEasia, asked, “If 20,000 teachers are absent on a daily basis, is that the World Bank’s fault?”
In his presentation, de Silva said, “We do not have the right to demand aid. If we are asking for aid, reasonable conditions are neither bad nor wrong.” Highlighting the need for proper post-sanction management of aid, he quipped, “Thereafter, whether I buy BMWs and my citizens starve to death is a separate question.”
De Silva pointed out that IMF has clearly indicated that its aid is conditional and is granted “provided that the country is implementing an adequate programme of policy adjustments” (2002).
Turning the mirror inward, de Silva said, “The only available option to protect the sovereignty of our country is for the state to borrow less and let private investments flow in… When foreign direct investment comes, you get advanced technology also,” which is not necessarily the case when you get aid.
The Indians Are Coming!
Prema Cooray, Chairman – Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, describes India as “the obvious place to go to promote tourism”. He will be leading a team to that country to tap the corporate meetings and conferences potential there. Prior to his forthcoming departure, however, he is in a reflective mood, casting his mind back ten years, when - during the late 1990s, “There were three problems - Flights were very few and always full; Indian Airlines had an older fleet and couldn’t increase capacity.
“Secondly, any Indian had to obtain a visa to come to Sri Lanka and it used to take three or four days to get a visa. Today, of course, Sri Lanka is the only country in SAARC where a leisure tourist gets a visa on arrival.
“Third, India’s currency regime was restrictive, not allowing people to take foreign exchange out, even on the current account. We worked on clearing those impediments and we have no problems in those three areas today.”
Besides, travel packages to Sri Lanka were very expensive compared to available options like Singapore, Malaysia Thailand or Mauritius. At that time - in November 2001, Udaya Nanayakkara, the former SLTB President, and Cooray recognised that people had a huge fear of traveling. (This was four months after the LTTE attack on the Katunayake International Airport and two months after 9/11.)
“SriLankan Airlines was approached to make an attractive offer. They asked us to put a package together - and they gave us a thundering ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ offer. You won’t believe what price does to people… 20,000 Indian leisure travelers visited in four months! Since that day, we have not been able to stop the Indians from coming,” says Cooray contentedly.
But Cooray believes that we have not touched even the tip of the iceberg yet and that it makes sense to go to India at this time… Taj has more than 60 to 70 rooms booked on meetings; which itself is a ready-reckoner that the market has potential… We have done our research with our Indian counterparts, with Taj and with the corporate community.
“Secondly, any Indian had to obtain a visa to come to Sri Lanka and it used to take three or four days to get a visa. Today, of course, Sri Lanka is the only country in SAARC where a leisure tourist gets a visa on arrival.
“Third, India’s currency regime was restrictive, not allowing people to take foreign exchange out, even on the current account. We worked on clearing those impediments and we have no problems in those three areas today.”
Besides, travel packages to Sri Lanka were very expensive compared to available options like Singapore, Malaysia Thailand or Mauritius. At that time - in November 2001, Udaya Nanayakkara, the former SLTB President, and Cooray recognised that people had a huge fear of traveling. (This was four months after the LTTE attack on the Katunayake International Airport and two months after 9/11.)
“SriLankan Airlines was approached to make an attractive offer. They asked us to put a package together - and they gave us a thundering ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ offer. You won’t believe what price does to people… 20,000 Indian leisure travelers visited in four months! Since that day, we have not been able to stop the Indians from coming,” says Cooray contentedly.
But Cooray believes that we have not touched even the tip of the iceberg yet and that it makes sense to go to India at this time… Taj has more than 60 to 70 rooms booked on meetings; which itself is a ready-reckoner that the market has potential… We have done our research with our Indian counterparts, with Taj and with the corporate community.
Tourism Feeds A Million
Tourism does not appear in the national accounts because it is a ‘demand-side activity’. Unlike manufacturing and agriculture (both supply-side), demand-side activities are defined in terms of who consumes the product. When any industry sells to a tourist, that is ‘tourism activity’, explains UNWTO Consultant, Stan Fleetwood, in conversation with The Sunday Times FT.
“If you understate it, it’s not recognised,” Fleetwood says, justifying the purpose of Tourism Satellite Account (TSA). TSA addresses the problem by giving tourism statistics the same official recognition as supply-side activities have.
Fleetwood continues: “In Australia, before we got TSA in 2000, the Treasurer didn’t believe the figures that our consultants put together. After TSA, the Minister for Tourism could say, ‘Tourism is 4.5%... bigger than coal exports, bigger than wheat.’ The Treasurer couldn’t argue with that because it was produced by Australian Bureau of Statistics (which comes under the Treasurer)!”
“Visitor arrivals and earnings in foreign currency are only one part of the story”, elaborates Prema Cooray, Chairman of USAID’s Tourism Cluster. In the local context, Cooray says, “There is a huge informal sector in tourism - handicrafts, curios, gems & jewellery, spice gardens, batiks... Suppliers of these items live on tourism. There are 60,000 persons directly employed in the tourism sector.
“But for every direct employee, there are at least three or four indirect employees. If four, that means 300,000 people altogether. Multiply that by a family unit and you will realise that tourism feeds one million people.”
“If you understate it, it’s not recognised,” Fleetwood says, justifying the purpose of Tourism Satellite Account (TSA). TSA addresses the problem by giving tourism statistics the same official recognition as supply-side activities have.
Fleetwood continues: “In Australia, before we got TSA in 2000, the Treasurer didn’t believe the figures that our consultants put together. After TSA, the Minister for Tourism could say, ‘Tourism is 4.5%... bigger than coal exports, bigger than wheat.’ The Treasurer couldn’t argue with that because it was produced by Australian Bureau of Statistics (which comes under the Treasurer)!”
“Visitor arrivals and earnings in foreign currency are only one part of the story”, elaborates Prema Cooray, Chairman of USAID’s Tourism Cluster. In the local context, Cooray says, “There is a huge informal sector in tourism - handicrafts, curios, gems & jewellery, spice gardens, batiks... Suppliers of these items live on tourism. There are 60,000 persons directly employed in the tourism sector.
“But for every direct employee, there are at least three or four indirect employees. If four, that means 300,000 people altogether. Multiply that by a family unit and you will realise that tourism feeds one million people.”
Tourism: Proving a Point
The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conducted a workshop on Tourism Statistics & Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) this week. The participants included eleven foreign delegates from six countries. In his welcome speech at the inaugural ceremony, Renton de Alwis, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourist Board, emphasized the need to influence governments with facts and figures.
P M Leelaratne, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, corroborated that viewpoint, saying, “Measurement of earnings is essential for policy makers to decide where we should invest. On what statistics should we base our decisions? Do embarkation cards, for example, capture what we really want to?”
‘Travel and tourism’ is the fastest growing industry, Christine Brew, UNWTO representative, pointed out. “UNWTO forecasts worldwide tourist arrivals at 1.1 billion during 2010.” That represents an annualized increase of 6.9% over the 842 million that was recorded during 2006. Brew spoke of the need for a comprehensive system of tourism statistics and indicated that the Colombo workshop was the second to be held this year.
Stan Fleetwood, a UNWTO Consultant, described tourism as a “fantastic phenomenon”. However, many countries struggle to generate a consistent and reliable database on international and domestic visitors’ consumption. UNWTO has dedicated sustained efforts to designing statistical instruments to help countries do their estimation.
The workshop had two primary objectives:
Improve statistical capacity building for participating countries, and thereby make progress in measurement and analysis of economic impacts of tourism
Initiate tasks recommended by UNWTO for development of a TSA.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
From Kandalama to Sinharaja
The stunning architecture of Kandalama Hotel has been described as Geoffrey Bawa’s ‘best expression’. Testifying to the genius of the man, Prema Cooray recollects his first impressions of the site, “When I landed by helicopter with Geoffrey Bawa, I couldn’t imagine how you could even build a house there.”
The process of building the hotel was accompanied by unprecedented protests. "Environmentalists took us to task,” says Cooray. “But we managed to survive the onslaught of protests that came in from NGOs, environmentalists and even the Opposition - and built this hotel. There were more than 600 newspaper articles during that controversy.” Cooray is writing a book about his experiences with Kandalama, which is expected to be on the shelves in about a year’s time.
The Sinharaja Rainforest project, of which Cooray is Chairman, is an extension of the vision to take nature tourism forward. A world class eco-lodge is being put up, which will adopt best practices in planning and construction, materials used and preservation of environment. The eco-lodge is being designed by international experts and will have a canopy walk at the treetop level. There will also be a research facility for thirty scientists.
Competitors in the tourism industry – Aitken Spence, John Keells, Jetwing and Hemas - have joined forces to invest in this venture. “USAID is chipping in with a grant of US$ 900,000 for the environmental side,” indicates Cooray.
The process of building the hotel was accompanied by unprecedented protests. "Environmentalists took us to task,” says Cooray. “But we managed to survive the onslaught of protests that came in from NGOs, environmentalists and even the Opposition - and built this hotel. There were more than 600 newspaper articles during that controversy.” Cooray is writing a book about his experiences with Kandalama, which is expected to be on the shelves in about a year’s time.
The Sinharaja Rainforest project, of which Cooray is Chairman, is an extension of the vision to take nature tourism forward. A world class eco-lodge is being put up, which will adopt best practices in planning and construction, materials used and preservation of environment. The eco-lodge is being designed by international experts and will have a canopy walk at the treetop level. There will also be a research facility for thirty scientists.
Competitors in the tourism industry – Aitken Spence, John Keells, Jetwing and Hemas - have joined forces to invest in this venture. “USAID is chipping in with a grant of US$ 900,000 for the environmental side,” indicates Cooray.
The Spice Route to Profits
Feedback: "Well done! It is a fantastic article." - Sarada de Silva, Chairman of The Spice Council
Upali Kodikara of Small Growers’ Spice Society was wearing a broad smile. We were on his eight-acre farm near Kandy, the heart of Sri Lanka’s ‘spice country’. The 1,000 Kgs of spices that Kodikara had sold since July 2006 had been grown organically, using no chemical fertilizers whatsoever. Kodikara’s obvious delight, we soon realized, was not entirely because of The Sunday Times FT’s presence at his farm. It stemmed more from the e-mail printout that he was brandishing like a trophy.
Kodikara had just received the e-mail from a Malaysian buyer. In a nutshell, the mail was an order for 2,000 kilograms of cloves at US$ 8 (Rs 880) per Kg. This was incredible! The last order had fetched an FoB price of only US$ 5 (Rs 550) per Kg. And local traders were offering just Rs 240 per Kg for cloves.
One of the reasons why producers like Kodikara are realizing better prices is that “demand for spices is picking up worldwide”, explains Sarada de Silva, Chairman of The Spice Council, the apex body to develop the spice industry. “However, credit also goes to other stakeholders involved in the industry - The Spice Council, SAPPTA, the DEA and the EDB. Producers and exporters from the private sector have also played a role in earning more foreign exchange for the country,” he adds...
The main spices grown in the country are cinnamon, black and white pepper, cloves and nutmeg. The soil and climate have resulted in superior intrinsic qualities like pungency, aroma, taste, oil and oleo-resin in Sri Lankan spices - compared to other countries’ spices.
However, we stack up rather poorly on productivity parameters. Take pepper, for instance: Malaysian farms yield 3,000 Kgs per hectare, whereas the Sri Lankan average is less than 500 Kgs per hectare. “Our farmers are accustomed to looking at unit price per kilogram, instead of yield per hectare”, explains de Silva, while confirming that there is potential to double this with better agronomic practices.
Cinnamon: Shortage of Peelers
Cinnamon is the major spice of Sri Lanka, accounting for almost 60% of the island’s spice exports. More than 90% of the island’s produce is exported. We have two fundamental problems: quantity and quality. Besides, margins are comparatively low, due to the high cost of peeling, fertilizer and weeding – one can barely expect a 25% margin on a well-maintained estate.
De Silva comments, “We don’t have adequate production to meet current demand; the export market can easily absorb an additional 4,000 to 5,000 metric tons – even more, if available in better qualities. We can sell ‘Grade C-5 Special Alba’ and similar grades to Mexico, where demand is the highest, at US$ 7 to 10 per Kg.”
“However, peeling is a highly skilled job and we are facing an acute shortage of peelers. If not for that, we could increase output by 3,000 to 5,000 tons in one year - as most estates are not harvesting twice a year” says de Silva. He goes on to describe tea-pluckers, rubber-tappers and cinnamon-peelers as being treated the worst of all the social strata. This is one of the main reasons for this depletion – and needs to be changed.
Pepper: Opportunity Lost
Koswana, Matale: T D Karunasena was in his twenties when his parents started pepper cultivation in 1972. The solar dryer that he has recently installed enables him to dry pepper in two days instead of four. He does not need to watch the skies for rain or keep animals away. This provides him more quality time to spend with his children than his parents could ever afford to spend with him.
Today, Karunasena is president of the Koswana Gamunu Farmers’ Organisation in Matale. He gestures towards his tractor and van as assets that he has acquired as a consequence of better prices for his produce. “Pepper pays,” he says quietly. His cost of production is Rs 60 per Kg, and the selling price is almost Rs 400 per Kg. During the past year, he has dried and sold nearly 1,500 Kgs, a quantity that would have been inconceivable before he acquired his solar dryer.
Light pepper berries, typically harvested in four months, have maximum oleo-resin content. Buyers are therefore willing to pay a slightly better price - 5 to 10% more per Kg. Producers seem to ignore the fact that, had they waited a couple of months more, the berries would have become ‘heavy’ and increased in weight by about 50%. Here, time is money - quite literally - and the DEA is trying to get this message across.
“We are not producing enough heavy pepper berries. By harvesting light berries earlier – and exporting them to India, our producers lose value addition,” explains de Silva. India extracts and exports the oil and oleo-resins all over the world as ‘Ceylon pepper’, which has a piperin content of 13% - the highest in the world. (Piperin is what gives pepper its strength and pungency).
Cloves: Infinite Potential
Cloves have excellent long-term potential; de Silva describes demand as “extremely high”. In his opinion, the DEA has been soft-pedalling cloves because it takes seven to ten years for the tree to ‘come into production’. Moreover, prices tend to drop when the harvest comes in. The financially weak farmers sell their produce to traders who have the wherewithal to buy them out.
Nutmeg: Killing the Goose
A similar loss of opportunity takes place in the case of nutmeg, which triples in weight when allowed to mature. This would have enabled the farmer to earn three times the money. To compound matters, the per-kilogram market price for immature nutmeg (say Rs 200) is also lower than the price for mature nutmeg (say Rs 280). Spice exporters like PODIE and Biofoods have been at the forefront of the awareness-building exercise. They advise the farmer not to sell immature produce but to wait and get the higher prices that these exporters are willing to pay (say Rs 360).
Just 5% of Sri Lanka’s spice exports are in nutmeg, which is typically grown in home gardens. Farmers sell immature nutmeg due to the desperate need for hard cash. Another reason for selling early is that thieving is a major issue in producing areas and growers need to harvest before thieves do!
Drying: Changing Times
One universal problem that the industry faces is the drying process. A moisture content of 12% is well accepted for dried products. All these years, farmers have traditionally dried their produce in the open. Spices are dried virtually anywhere – on roads and on cement floors, where dogs sleep and chickens scratch for food. Such open drying gives incompletely dried spices that are of inferior and inconsistent quality, often contaminated with germs due to mould infection.
Shireen Samarasuriya, the National Coordinator for UNDP’s Global Environment Facility/ Small Grants Programme (GEF/ SGP), says, “Drying pepper on the roadside is unsanitary; correct drying is very important. With solar dryers, quality is good; the colour and smell are preserved; exporters like this quality. We have not really had a good dryer until now.”
Things have been changing ever since the Department of Export Agriculture (DEA) started advising farmers on how to improve the quality of their produce. A solar dryer designed by the University of Ruhuna made it possible to dry spices even during harvesting seasons that coincide with the monsoons. Through a process of experimental trials, they have designed what is arguably the best dryer in the country.
The Saviru renewable energy project is an endeavour to introduce solar drying technology to produce high quality spices. Explaining the background, Kapila Weeratunga Arachchi of UNDP-funded AfATE (Alliance for Appropriate Technology Exchange) says: “We had to introduce technology that is appropriate – what the farmer can afford, handle and understand.” The drying process was researched and the equipment was designed and developed.
Generation 1: The Tunnel Dryer
Arachchi, who was conducting research on solar and other methods of drying, had to find implementation funding. In response to UNDP GEF/ SGP’s call, he wrote a proposal linking renewable energy with rural economic development. GEF/SGP accepted his proposal for the drying experiment - and the rest, as the cliché goes, is history.
The SAVIRU solar tunnel dryer is made partly of fibre-glass and typically measures 24 ft long by 3 ft wide. To achieve the optimum temperature of 60 degrees Celsius, two small fans blow air through the tunnel. A separate bin dryer is provided for final drying that is especially useful during wet weather. The price (which started at Rs 28,000) has escalated to Rs 37,000 over the past two years.
Passing the Versatility Test
Until 2004, S J Gunasekara used to work in Anuradhapura, for an insurance company. After opting for voluntary retirement, he returned to his ancestral home in Galekoluwa. There, he learnt the spice trade from his father, who had been in the business for twenty years.
Having adopted scientific practices, Gunasekara says, “Buyers can easily spot the difference between solar dried and open-dried spices by the cleanliness. They are willing to pay a premium of at least Rs 15 to 20 per Kg. Besides, there is less wastage.” Enquiries reveal that wastage is 2 to 5% - against 20% otherwise. “Even if it rains, there is no problem,” Gunasekara says.
While endorsing the efficacy of solar dryers, The Spice Council indicates that it is ideal for small producers’ cloves and pepper because the volumes are small. The Sunday Times FT has spoken to farmers who have adapted the technology for dry chillies, bitter gourd, coconut, jackfruit and breadfruit. Test results on microbial quality by the SGS Laboratories show that quality will pass for spice shipments even to European countries.
The Quality Conundrum
Selling of high-quality spices to buyers paying higher prices would improve farmers’ incomes substantially. But poor quality leads to low-priced markets, a vicious cycle that needed to be broken. The market willingly acknowledges the better quality of solar dried spices, but has not been willing to pay the premium. “This was a typical chicken-and-egg problem,” says Arachchi. “Spice farmers were selling at prices dictated by the buyer. The spice industry wanted to improve quality but the trade just wasn’t ready to pay a premium…”
By improving the quality of spices, small-scale producers at the village level are now earning prices that are significantly higher than prevailing rural market prices. In an experiment lasting three years, two farmers of Dagonna in Gampaha district earned an extra income of Rs 225,000 on about 6 tons of spices.
Atomised Farmers Suffer
75-80% of spice production comes from farmers who cultivate small plots measuring less than two acres. These ‘atomised’ farmers have little bargaining power. Farmers have only recently been organized into village-level organizations to facilitate marketing. The Spice Council/ DEA have a model to encourage these villagers to collectivise themselves for better bargaining.
People’s Organisation for Development – Import and Export (PODIE) is an NGO buyer in the business of processing and exporting value-added spice products to Europe. It has the reputation of offering prices that are almost twice as much as the village market offers. They also work with small farmer groups like the Koswana Gamunu Farmers’ Organisation. Karunasena recalls how he supplied white pepper to PODIE and earned Rs 200 per Kg at a time when the rural buyer’s best offer was Rs 130.
The closer links that have been created between farmers and buyers have also facilitated more efficient marketing.
More Value Addition, Please!
De Silva speaks of the need to encourage farmers and others to move up the value chain. “That would insulate us from price fluctuations in the world market,” he points out. “Grinding is the natural value addition,” he says. Then, there could be essential oils, oleo-resins, mixes and formulations. Why, we could even consider house brands for Wal-Mart!”
Generation 2: Saviru Jeewa Dryer
The Saviru Jeewa Dryer has been developed and patented by AfATE. It consists of a drying cabinet that holds lots of 3 foot by 2 foot trays. A fan circulates air through the cabinet to enhance the drying process. The dryer includes an external hot air generator, heated by a compact downdraft burner that burns gliricidia wood – an abundant local fuel resource. Interestingly, the gliricidia tree is used as a support for pepper vines and its leaf is useful for goat fodder and mulching.
In 2006, Sri Lanka showcased this technology at the International Pepper Community, the largest international gathering of pepper-producing and -consuming countries.
The Spice Council is developing a model Spice Processing Center in Galekoluwa, Matale, to demonstrate good manufacturing practices. A 450-Kg Saviru Jeewa dryer has already been installed there. This has been assisted by The Competitiveness Program of USAID.
Farmers in Kandy, Matale and Gampaha have been given subsidies by UNDP’s GEF/ SGP scheme. They have also been taught to access the market. Of the UNDP’s contribution, Samarasuriya says, “We are trying to address the issue of how to use solar dryers in the spice industry.”
The Government Can Help
With this new-found awareness, the spice industry has been seeing a revival of interest in Sri Lanka lately. Much, however, remains to be done, and all eyes seem to be focused on the government. Samarasuriya says, “We can only show the way. Others - like the government - must get something going on a commercial scale. We have our hands full with 115 different projects at various stages of progress.”
De Silva points out that there is very little investment by the government in comparison to the export earnings. The potential of the sector could grow exponentially if we could add value and increase productivity. “Though the DEA has 900 employees, its research and extension services divisions are short-staffed and need further strengthening.”
“Our spice exports were on par with India’s in 1984,” says de Silva. Then the Indian Government made huge investments: They subsidized new processing and grinding plants; they supplied electricity at subsidized rates; they provided easy financing for extraction units. Today, they are number one in the world oleo-resin industry.”
Upali Kodikara of Small Growers’ Spice Society was wearing a broad smile. We were on his eight-acre farm near Kandy, the heart of Sri Lanka’s ‘spice country’. The 1,000 Kgs of spices that Kodikara had sold since July 2006 had been grown organically, using no chemical fertilizers whatsoever. Kodikara’s obvious delight, we soon realized, was not entirely because of The Sunday Times FT’s presence at his farm. It stemmed more from the e-mail printout that he was brandishing like a trophy.
Kodikara had just received the e-mail from a Malaysian buyer. In a nutshell, the mail was an order for 2,000 kilograms of cloves at US$ 8 (Rs 880) per Kg. This was incredible! The last order had fetched an FoB price of only US$ 5 (Rs 550) per Kg. And local traders were offering just Rs 240 per Kg for cloves.
One of the reasons why producers like Kodikara are realizing better prices is that “demand for spices is picking up worldwide”, explains Sarada de Silva, Chairman of The Spice Council, the apex body to develop the spice industry. “However, credit also goes to other stakeholders involved in the industry - The Spice Council, SAPPTA, the DEA and the EDB. Producers and exporters from the private sector have also played a role in earning more foreign exchange for the country,” he adds...
The main spices grown in the country are cinnamon, black and white pepper, cloves and nutmeg. The soil and climate have resulted in superior intrinsic qualities like pungency, aroma, taste, oil and oleo-resin in Sri Lankan spices - compared to other countries’ spices.
However, we stack up rather poorly on productivity parameters. Take pepper, for instance: Malaysian farms yield 3,000 Kgs per hectare, whereas the Sri Lankan average is less than 500 Kgs per hectare. “Our farmers are accustomed to looking at unit price per kilogram, instead of yield per hectare”, explains de Silva, while confirming that there is potential to double this with better agronomic practices.
Cinnamon: Shortage of Peelers
Cinnamon is the major spice of Sri Lanka, accounting for almost 60% of the island’s spice exports. More than 90% of the island’s produce is exported. We have two fundamental problems: quantity and quality. Besides, margins are comparatively low, due to the high cost of peeling, fertilizer and weeding – one can barely expect a 25% margin on a well-maintained estate.
De Silva comments, “We don’t have adequate production to meet current demand; the export market can easily absorb an additional 4,000 to 5,000 metric tons – even more, if available in better qualities. We can sell ‘Grade C-5 Special Alba’ and similar grades to Mexico, where demand is the highest, at US$ 7 to 10 per Kg.”
“However, peeling is a highly skilled job and we are facing an acute shortage of peelers. If not for that, we could increase output by 3,000 to 5,000 tons in one year - as most estates are not harvesting twice a year” says de Silva. He goes on to describe tea-pluckers, rubber-tappers and cinnamon-peelers as being treated the worst of all the social strata. This is one of the main reasons for this depletion – and needs to be changed.
Pepper: Opportunity Lost
Koswana, Matale: T D Karunasena was in his twenties when his parents started pepper cultivation in 1972. The solar dryer that he has recently installed enables him to dry pepper in two days instead of four. He does not need to watch the skies for rain or keep animals away. This provides him more quality time to spend with his children than his parents could ever afford to spend with him.
Today, Karunasena is president of the Koswana Gamunu Farmers’ Organisation in Matale. He gestures towards his tractor and van as assets that he has acquired as a consequence of better prices for his produce. “Pepper pays,” he says quietly. His cost of production is Rs 60 per Kg, and the selling price is almost Rs 400 per Kg. During the past year, he has dried and sold nearly 1,500 Kgs, a quantity that would have been inconceivable before he acquired his solar dryer.
Light pepper berries, typically harvested in four months, have maximum oleo-resin content. Buyers are therefore willing to pay a slightly better price - 5 to 10% more per Kg. Producers seem to ignore the fact that, had they waited a couple of months more, the berries would have become ‘heavy’ and increased in weight by about 50%. Here, time is money - quite literally - and the DEA is trying to get this message across.
“We are not producing enough heavy pepper berries. By harvesting light berries earlier – and exporting them to India, our producers lose value addition,” explains de Silva. India extracts and exports the oil and oleo-resins all over the world as ‘Ceylon pepper’, which has a piperin content of 13% - the highest in the world. (Piperin is what gives pepper its strength and pungency).
Cloves: Infinite Potential
Cloves have excellent long-term potential; de Silva describes demand as “extremely high”. In his opinion, the DEA has been soft-pedalling cloves because it takes seven to ten years for the tree to ‘come into production’. Moreover, prices tend to drop when the harvest comes in. The financially weak farmers sell their produce to traders who have the wherewithal to buy them out.
Nutmeg: Killing the Goose
A similar loss of opportunity takes place in the case of nutmeg, which triples in weight when allowed to mature. This would have enabled the farmer to earn three times the money. To compound matters, the per-kilogram market price for immature nutmeg (say Rs 200) is also lower than the price for mature nutmeg (say Rs 280). Spice exporters like PODIE and Biofoods have been at the forefront of the awareness-building exercise. They advise the farmer not to sell immature produce but to wait and get the higher prices that these exporters are willing to pay (say Rs 360).
Just 5% of Sri Lanka’s spice exports are in nutmeg, which is typically grown in home gardens. Farmers sell immature nutmeg due to the desperate need for hard cash. Another reason for selling early is that thieving is a major issue in producing areas and growers need to harvest before thieves do!
Drying: Changing Times
One universal problem that the industry faces is the drying process. A moisture content of 12% is well accepted for dried products. All these years, farmers have traditionally dried their produce in the open. Spices are dried virtually anywhere – on roads and on cement floors, where dogs sleep and chickens scratch for food. Such open drying gives incompletely dried spices that are of inferior and inconsistent quality, often contaminated with germs due to mould infection.
Shireen Samarasuriya, the National Coordinator for UNDP’s Global Environment Facility/ Small Grants Programme (GEF/ SGP), says, “Drying pepper on the roadside is unsanitary; correct drying is very important. With solar dryers, quality is good; the colour and smell are preserved; exporters like this quality. We have not really had a good dryer until now.”
Things have been changing ever since the Department of Export Agriculture (DEA) started advising farmers on how to improve the quality of their produce. A solar dryer designed by the University of Ruhuna made it possible to dry spices even during harvesting seasons that coincide with the monsoons. Through a process of experimental trials, they have designed what is arguably the best dryer in the country.
The Saviru renewable energy project is an endeavour to introduce solar drying technology to produce high quality spices. Explaining the background, Kapila Weeratunga Arachchi of UNDP-funded AfATE (Alliance for Appropriate Technology Exchange) says: “We had to introduce technology that is appropriate – what the farmer can afford, handle and understand.” The drying process was researched and the equipment was designed and developed.
Generation 1: The Tunnel Dryer
Arachchi, who was conducting research on solar and other methods of drying, had to find implementation funding. In response to UNDP GEF/ SGP’s call, he wrote a proposal linking renewable energy with rural economic development. GEF/SGP accepted his proposal for the drying experiment - and the rest, as the cliché goes, is history.
The SAVIRU solar tunnel dryer is made partly of fibre-glass and typically measures 24 ft long by 3 ft wide. To achieve the optimum temperature of 60 degrees Celsius, two small fans blow air through the tunnel. A separate bin dryer is provided for final drying that is especially useful during wet weather. The price (which started at Rs 28,000) has escalated to Rs 37,000 over the past two years.
Passing the Versatility Test
Until 2004, S J Gunasekara used to work in Anuradhapura, for an insurance company. After opting for voluntary retirement, he returned to his ancestral home in Galekoluwa. There, he learnt the spice trade from his father, who had been in the business for twenty years.
Having adopted scientific practices, Gunasekara says, “Buyers can easily spot the difference between solar dried and open-dried spices by the cleanliness. They are willing to pay a premium of at least Rs 15 to 20 per Kg. Besides, there is less wastage.” Enquiries reveal that wastage is 2 to 5% - against 20% otherwise. “Even if it rains, there is no problem,” Gunasekara says.
While endorsing the efficacy of solar dryers, The Spice Council indicates that it is ideal for small producers’ cloves and pepper because the volumes are small. The Sunday Times FT has spoken to farmers who have adapted the technology for dry chillies, bitter gourd, coconut, jackfruit and breadfruit. Test results on microbial quality by the SGS Laboratories show that quality will pass for spice shipments even to European countries.
The Quality Conundrum
Selling of high-quality spices to buyers paying higher prices would improve farmers’ incomes substantially. But poor quality leads to low-priced markets, a vicious cycle that needed to be broken. The market willingly acknowledges the better quality of solar dried spices, but has not been willing to pay the premium. “This was a typical chicken-and-egg problem,” says Arachchi. “Spice farmers were selling at prices dictated by the buyer. The spice industry wanted to improve quality but the trade just wasn’t ready to pay a premium…”
By improving the quality of spices, small-scale producers at the village level are now earning prices that are significantly higher than prevailing rural market prices. In an experiment lasting three years, two farmers of Dagonna in Gampaha district earned an extra income of Rs 225,000 on about 6 tons of spices.
Atomised Farmers Suffer
75-80% of spice production comes from farmers who cultivate small plots measuring less than two acres. These ‘atomised’ farmers have little bargaining power. Farmers have only recently been organized into village-level organizations to facilitate marketing. The Spice Council/ DEA have a model to encourage these villagers to collectivise themselves for better bargaining.
People’s Organisation for Development – Import and Export (PODIE) is an NGO buyer in the business of processing and exporting value-added spice products to Europe. It has the reputation of offering prices that are almost twice as much as the village market offers. They also work with small farmer groups like the Koswana Gamunu Farmers’ Organisation. Karunasena recalls how he supplied white pepper to PODIE and earned Rs 200 per Kg at a time when the rural buyer’s best offer was Rs 130.
The closer links that have been created between farmers and buyers have also facilitated more efficient marketing.
More Value Addition, Please!
De Silva speaks of the need to encourage farmers and others to move up the value chain. “That would insulate us from price fluctuations in the world market,” he points out. “Grinding is the natural value addition,” he says. Then, there could be essential oils, oleo-resins, mixes and formulations. Why, we could even consider house brands for Wal-Mart!”
Generation 2: Saviru Jeewa Dryer
The Saviru Jeewa Dryer has been developed and patented by AfATE. It consists of a drying cabinet that holds lots of 3 foot by 2 foot trays. A fan circulates air through the cabinet to enhance the drying process. The dryer includes an external hot air generator, heated by a compact downdraft burner that burns gliricidia wood – an abundant local fuel resource. Interestingly, the gliricidia tree is used as a support for pepper vines and its leaf is useful for goat fodder and mulching.
In 2006, Sri Lanka showcased this technology at the International Pepper Community, the largest international gathering of pepper-producing and -consuming countries.
The Spice Council is developing a model Spice Processing Center in Galekoluwa, Matale, to demonstrate good manufacturing practices. A 450-Kg Saviru Jeewa dryer has already been installed there. This has been assisted by The Competitiveness Program of USAID.
Farmers in Kandy, Matale and Gampaha have been given subsidies by UNDP’s GEF/ SGP scheme. They have also been taught to access the market. Of the UNDP’s contribution, Samarasuriya says, “We are trying to address the issue of how to use solar dryers in the spice industry.”
The Government Can Help
With this new-found awareness, the spice industry has been seeing a revival of interest in Sri Lanka lately. Much, however, remains to be done, and all eyes seem to be focused on the government. Samarasuriya says, “We can only show the way. Others - like the government - must get something going on a commercial scale. We have our hands full with 115 different projects at various stages of progress.”
De Silva points out that there is very little investment by the government in comparison to the export earnings. The potential of the sector could grow exponentially if we could add value and increase productivity. “Though the DEA has 900 employees, its research and extension services divisions are short-staffed and need further strengthening.”
“Our spice exports were on par with India’s in 1984,” says de Silva. Then the Indian Government made huge investments: They subsidized new processing and grinding plants; they supplied electricity at subsidized rates; they provided easy financing for extraction units. Today, they are number one in the world oleo-resin industry.”
Friday, May 25, 2007
Balanced Duet: Maldive Fish..!
Mohammed Jaleel, the Maldives’ Minister for Economic Development and Trade, spoke to The Sunday Times FT on the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the Sri Lanka – Maldives Bilateral Business Council.
“Presently, we import a large proportion of our requirement of vegetables, meats and fruits from Sri Lanka. However, we also import our requirement of high value-added food products from Australia, Europe and Singapore,” Jaleel said. The challenge, according to him, lies in identifying those areas of the supply chain where the Maldives and Sri Lanka can work together to increase trade.
This would not necessarily tilt the balance of trade - already in favour of Sri Lanka – further “if these are joint ventures“, opines Jaleel. Besides, “We are also looking to increase our exports, mainly of fish and fish products, to Sri Lanka,” says Jaleel. “There’s plenty more that Sri Lankans can take.” Maldive fish already constitutes 72% by value of the Maldives’ export basket to Sri Lanka.
Trade barriers seem to be a bigger concern for Jaleel: “We have issues about putting certain items on a sensitive list. For small countries like ourselves, it’s no good for either.”
“The way forward is to have a reciprocal dialogue to eliminate trade-distorting tariff barriers in a time-bound manner,” says Jaleel, “We can then work together on creating trade-enhancing measures… In any case, we are all bound by SAARC and SAFTA rules on eliminating trade tariffs within a particular period.”
J Kehelpannala, the newly-elected President of the Executive Committee, is Executive Vice President at John Keells Holdings. In his opinion, there has been a lot of investment made by Sri Lanka in the Maldives – which ought to be reciprocated. “We should also look at new initiatives in other areas,” he said.
“Presently, we import a large proportion of our requirement of vegetables, meats and fruits from Sri Lanka. However, we also import our requirement of high value-added food products from Australia, Europe and Singapore,” Jaleel said. The challenge, according to him, lies in identifying those areas of the supply chain where the Maldives and Sri Lanka can work together to increase trade.
This would not necessarily tilt the balance of trade - already in favour of Sri Lanka – further “if these are joint ventures“, opines Jaleel. Besides, “We are also looking to increase our exports, mainly of fish and fish products, to Sri Lanka,” says Jaleel. “There’s plenty more that Sri Lankans can take.” Maldive fish already constitutes 72% by value of the Maldives’ export basket to Sri Lanka.
Trade barriers seem to be a bigger concern for Jaleel: “We have issues about putting certain items on a sensitive list. For small countries like ourselves, it’s no good for either.”
“The way forward is to have a reciprocal dialogue to eliminate trade-distorting tariff barriers in a time-bound manner,” says Jaleel, “We can then work together on creating trade-enhancing measures… In any case, we are all bound by SAARC and SAFTA rules on eliminating trade tariffs within a particular period.”
J Kehelpannala, the newly-elected President of the Executive Committee, is Executive Vice President at John Keells Holdings. In his opinion, there has been a lot of investment made by Sri Lanka in the Maldives – which ought to be reciprocated. “We should also look at new initiatives in other areas,” he said.
Biggies Green; SMEs Amber
Surrounded by rocky outcrops, lakes and forests, Kandalama is home to a variety of indigenous species of birds and wildlife. It occupies a unique place in the cultural heartland, flanked by two world heritage sites - the 1st century BC Dambulla temple and the 5th century AD Sigiriya fortress. Kandalama Hotel is the first hotel in the world to be awarded the prestigious ‘LEEDS Green Building Certification’.
Prema Cooray has been Secretary General/ CEO of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce for some time now. However - especially with the development of Kandalama Hotel - his reputation as the pioneer in developing eco-friendly tourism in Sri Lanka precedes him. Therefore, when he addressed The World Conservation Union (IUCN) last week, one was compelled to sit up and take notice.
“Many large companies today are committed to striking a balance between the planet, the people and the profits,” Cooray revealed. He dispelled the perception that the private sector is interested solely in the financial bottom line. “Companies are convinced that investment in environmental conservation provides for the survival of mankind in the long term, while yielding economic benefits to the organisation,” he said.
There is, however, some ambiguity about whether the SME (small and medium enterprises) sector has taken this concept seriously. Cooray appeared to condone their lukewarm approach when he said, “Their problems are so many – financial, technical, marketing… It’s a tough world that they are living in.”
To rectify this situation, the IUCN is involved in a programme where they enable the SME sector to have a greater sense of commitment towards the environment. One of the IUCN’s focus areas is to ensure that Sri Lanka’s business community incorporates environmental concerns into its operating and decision-making practices.
One obstacle is that the benefits of investing in the environment are not easily measurable, Cooray pointed out. IBM has done a comprehensive exercise in this area; their CSR Annual Report 2005 evaluates their investment in the environment against the benefits that accrue. The company says that, over a period of time, the ratio of savings to expenditure will be 2.5 to 1.
Sri Lankan companies, on the other hand, have not done such a detailed analysis in terms of cost versus benefit. There have been isolated attempts at evaluating certain investments – such as: What would we save in electricity charges by investing in alternate energy like biomass?
They appear to be bent on competing with each other by revealing more and more of activities in corporate social responsibility (CSR), suggests Cooray. Most annual reports of companies devote a substantial number of pages to CSR, of which the segment on environment takes pride of place.
Cooray observed that many companies in the hotel sector have gone green. In his own experience, the Kandalama Hotel was able to command a price premium over the competition. This is visible in the marketplace and also in the profits the hotel has generated over the years.
Prema Cooray has been Secretary General/ CEO of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce for some time now. However - especially with the development of Kandalama Hotel - his reputation as the pioneer in developing eco-friendly tourism in Sri Lanka precedes him. Therefore, when he addressed The World Conservation Union (IUCN) last week, one was compelled to sit up and take notice.
“Many large companies today are committed to striking a balance between the planet, the people and the profits,” Cooray revealed. He dispelled the perception that the private sector is interested solely in the financial bottom line. “Companies are convinced that investment in environmental conservation provides for the survival of mankind in the long term, while yielding economic benefits to the organisation,” he said.
There is, however, some ambiguity about whether the SME (small and medium enterprises) sector has taken this concept seriously. Cooray appeared to condone their lukewarm approach when he said, “Their problems are so many – financial, technical, marketing… It’s a tough world that they are living in.”
To rectify this situation, the IUCN is involved in a programme where they enable the SME sector to have a greater sense of commitment towards the environment. One of the IUCN’s focus areas is to ensure that Sri Lanka’s business community incorporates environmental concerns into its operating and decision-making practices.
One obstacle is that the benefits of investing in the environment are not easily measurable, Cooray pointed out. IBM has done a comprehensive exercise in this area; their CSR Annual Report 2005 evaluates their investment in the environment against the benefits that accrue. The company says that, over a period of time, the ratio of savings to expenditure will be 2.5 to 1.
Sri Lankan companies, on the other hand, have not done such a detailed analysis in terms of cost versus benefit. There have been isolated attempts at evaluating certain investments – such as: What would we save in electricity charges by investing in alternate energy like biomass?
They appear to be bent on competing with each other by revealing more and more of activities in corporate social responsibility (CSR), suggests Cooray. Most annual reports of companies devote a substantial number of pages to CSR, of which the segment on environment takes pride of place.
Cooray observed that many companies in the hotel sector have gone green. In his own experience, the Kandalama Hotel was able to command a price premium over the competition. This is visible in the marketplace and also in the profits the hotel has generated over the years.
Media: Impartial Assessor?
Al Ries, the father of Positioning, wrote: “Marketing is not a battle of products; it’s a battle of perception.” Perceptions are built by communication – and communication is a lot more than what a company says about its products. It’s more about what consumers say.
In an exclusive conversation with The Sunday Times FT last week, Jayantha Sittampalam, Managing Director of Cameron Pale & Medina, elaborated on this theme. “The logic is simple”, he said. “Advertising works better if it is believed because then it would be acted upon.” This ‘believability factor’ can be increased by using third party endorsements.
YES
People do not believe advertising but look at the media as good intermediaries who will test products/ services. “If you have a product that is original or different, it should be in the news. This works best with PR”, says Sittampalam, “Advertising should serve as a reaffirmation of your value statement.”
Public relations is better than advertising at building a brand, argued Laura and Al Ries in their 2002 book, ‘The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR’. The media’s role, therefore, is to make fair assessments. Citing the ‘Top Gear’ programme on BBC, Sittampalam says, “That presenter, James May, can sell cars like this (snaps his fingers)!”
NO
Dr Dannielle Blumenthal has held positions at Young & Rubicam's futuristic trend consultancy and served as director of the Institute for Brand Leadership. Writing in brandchannel.com, she offers a counterpoint: “At that time, they were right; advertising had indeed lost credibility while the media still had it.
“But today, one can no longer be so sure,” Dr Blumenthal continues. “In an age when news releases regularly substitute for real news, people have learned to be skeptical about the media’s objectivity.”
In an exclusive conversation with The Sunday Times FT last week, Jayantha Sittampalam, Managing Director of Cameron Pale & Medina, elaborated on this theme. “The logic is simple”, he said. “Advertising works better if it is believed because then it would be acted upon.” This ‘believability factor’ can be increased by using third party endorsements.
YES
People do not believe advertising but look at the media as good intermediaries who will test products/ services. “If you have a product that is original or different, it should be in the news. This works best with PR”, says Sittampalam, “Advertising should serve as a reaffirmation of your value statement.”
Public relations is better than advertising at building a brand, argued Laura and Al Ries in their 2002 book, ‘The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR’. The media’s role, therefore, is to make fair assessments. Citing the ‘Top Gear’ programme on BBC, Sittampalam says, “That presenter, James May, can sell cars like this (snaps his fingers)!”
NO
Dr Dannielle Blumenthal has held positions at Young & Rubicam's futuristic trend consultancy and served as director of the Institute for Brand Leadership. Writing in brandchannel.com, she offers a counterpoint: “At that time, they were right; advertising had indeed lost credibility while the media still had it.
“But today, one can no longer be so sure,” Dr Blumenthal continues. “In an age when news releases regularly substitute for real news, people have learned to be skeptical about the media’s objectivity.”
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Credibility: Who You Gonna Call?
Q: What do Microsoft, Google, Red Bull, Linux and Starbucks Coffee have in common?
A: All of these brands were built using public relations (PR).
This was pointed out by Jayantha Sittampalam, Managing Director of Cameron Pale & Medina, a public relations firm that pioneered the ‘inclusive communications approach’. Sittampalam was addressing a seminar on ‘Category-led Marketing’, sponsored by Cameron PR, at the Ceylon Continental Hotel this week. The audience comprised CEOs and senior marketing professionals of Superbrands.
In the pursuit of awards, advertising agencies have tended to sacrifice effectiveness at the altar of creativity. “Awards have become the Holy Grail of advertising”, said Sittampalam. Embellishing his presentation with commercials from Budweiser and Nike, he suggested that foreign agencies were also guilty of this.
Over the past few years, advertising volumes have been increasing. Therefore, to be seen amidst the clutter and heard above the din, clients have had to increase advertising frequency and expenditure. Sittampalam points out that this leads to a vicious cycle with volumes increasing even further. As an obvious corollary, effectiveness is adversely impacted; the only beneficiary seems to be the agency.
Drawing extensively from Al Ries’ book, ‘The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR’, Sittampalam built a case for PR. He observed, “Many things that lose their functional purpose turn into art forms: painting, calligraphy, swords, horse-back riding – and Advertising!”
“Advertisements are one-sided,” Sittampalam said. In the communication mix, direct communication (what you say about yourself) is the easiest to craft to your specifications. This is exactly why it lacks credibility. Establishing category leadership is difficult without credibility, which advertising cannot establish.
Touting PR as a credible alternative, Sittampalam attempted to shatter the ad-value equivalency myth: “The difference between being front page news and having a front page ad is the credibility of the third party voice.” PR can establish credibility, but only if one walks the talk. This requires a new approach to communication, in which establishing credibility is the key. “The idea is not just to get space, but to get credibility by being unbiased,” says Sittampalam.
Inclusive communication establishes both: credibility and category leadership. In practice, inclusive communication strategy encompasses direct communications (above the line, below the line and promotions), indirect communications (media relations/ PR) and even non-verbal communications.
So what exactly is Category-led Marketing? Sittampalam sums it up: “If you belong in a category where there is already a leader established in the prospect’s mind, dislodging him is almost impossible. Instead, refocus and rename your category... You can have a situation where you are in advertising but you’re insignificant. So, recategorise yourself as the leading agency in the below the line (BTL) category, so that you become big in BTL.”
Claiming brand building as the natural domain of PR, Sittampalam advised advertisers to “accept what you already own in the mind. Go deeper, not broader.” He concluded that the new role for Advertising would be brand maintenance.
PR Case Study: An Indian Media ‘Takeover’
(Source: Cameron PR)
Client: Export Development Board of Sri Lanka (EDB)
Campaign: Launch of Sri Lankan exports gateway in Chennai
Year: 2005
Background
Following the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with India, the EDB wanted a permanent gateway in India for Sri Lankan exports. They rented retail space at the Spencer Plaza in Chennai, creating an opportunity whereby Sri Lankan products could be displayed, attracting potential Indian trade partners. This gateway enabled trade and consumers to see and purchase Sri Lankan products, and identify business partners to engage in long term trade between the two countries.
The communication budget for this bilateral trade promotion event was only Rs 4 million, which was too limited for any impactful advertising in the Indian media. (A half-page advertisement in The Hindu, for example, cost Rs 2.9 million.)
The Campaign
A PR firm was appointed to launch and promote the gateway. For the launch event to be executed in the atrium of the Spencer Plaza, the PR firm adopted a communication strategy relying almost entirely on publicity. The pre-publicity was carried out through the PR firm, state agencies and Sri Lankan diplomats.
Although the event area was visible for all visitors to the building - even from the top-most floor, the event was restricted to invitees only. This strategy alone created much hype due to the restricted access – with the inquisitive Chennai public actively seeking out information.
The event generated a torrent of publicity in six television stations on prime time. The post-publicity for the event included 27 Indian newspapers featuring the event in their columns the following day! With an extremely small budget, a launch of this nature would not have been as successful had it not been for the PR-led communication strategy that was adopted.
A: All of these brands were built using public relations (PR).
This was pointed out by Jayantha Sittampalam, Managing Director of Cameron Pale & Medina, a public relations firm that pioneered the ‘inclusive communications approach’. Sittampalam was addressing a seminar on ‘Category-led Marketing’, sponsored by Cameron PR, at the Ceylon Continental Hotel this week. The audience comprised CEOs and senior marketing professionals of Superbrands.
In the pursuit of awards, advertising agencies have tended to sacrifice effectiveness at the altar of creativity. “Awards have become the Holy Grail of advertising”, said Sittampalam. Embellishing his presentation with commercials from Budweiser and Nike, he suggested that foreign agencies were also guilty of this.
Over the past few years, advertising volumes have been increasing. Therefore, to be seen amidst the clutter and heard above the din, clients have had to increase advertising frequency and expenditure. Sittampalam points out that this leads to a vicious cycle with volumes increasing even further. As an obvious corollary, effectiveness is adversely impacted; the only beneficiary seems to be the agency.
Drawing extensively from Al Ries’ book, ‘The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR’, Sittampalam built a case for PR. He observed, “Many things that lose their functional purpose turn into art forms: painting, calligraphy, swords, horse-back riding – and Advertising!”
“Advertisements are one-sided,” Sittampalam said. In the communication mix, direct communication (what you say about yourself) is the easiest to craft to your specifications. This is exactly why it lacks credibility. Establishing category leadership is difficult without credibility, which advertising cannot establish.
Touting PR as a credible alternative, Sittampalam attempted to shatter the ad-value equivalency myth: “The difference between being front page news and having a front page ad is the credibility of the third party voice.” PR can establish credibility, but only if one walks the talk. This requires a new approach to communication, in which establishing credibility is the key. “The idea is not just to get space, but to get credibility by being unbiased,” says Sittampalam.
Inclusive communication establishes both: credibility and category leadership. In practice, inclusive communication strategy encompasses direct communications (above the line, below the line and promotions), indirect communications (media relations/ PR) and even non-verbal communications.
So what exactly is Category-led Marketing? Sittampalam sums it up: “If you belong in a category where there is already a leader established in the prospect’s mind, dislodging him is almost impossible. Instead, refocus and rename your category... You can have a situation where you are in advertising but you’re insignificant. So, recategorise yourself as the leading agency in the below the line (BTL) category, so that you become big in BTL.”
Claiming brand building as the natural domain of PR, Sittampalam advised advertisers to “accept what you already own in the mind. Go deeper, not broader.” He concluded that the new role for Advertising would be brand maintenance.
PR Case Study: An Indian Media ‘Takeover’
(Source: Cameron PR)
Client: Export Development Board of Sri Lanka (EDB)
Campaign: Launch of Sri Lankan exports gateway in Chennai
Year: 2005
Background
Following the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with India, the EDB wanted a permanent gateway in India for Sri Lankan exports. They rented retail space at the Spencer Plaza in Chennai, creating an opportunity whereby Sri Lankan products could be displayed, attracting potential Indian trade partners. This gateway enabled trade and consumers to see and purchase Sri Lankan products, and identify business partners to engage in long term trade between the two countries.
The communication budget for this bilateral trade promotion event was only Rs 4 million, which was too limited for any impactful advertising in the Indian media. (A half-page advertisement in The Hindu, for example, cost Rs 2.9 million.)
The Campaign
A PR firm was appointed to launch and promote the gateway. For the launch event to be executed in the atrium of the Spencer Plaza, the PR firm adopted a communication strategy relying almost entirely on publicity. The pre-publicity was carried out through the PR firm, state agencies and Sri Lankan diplomats.
Although the event area was visible for all visitors to the building - even from the top-most floor, the event was restricted to invitees only. This strategy alone created much hype due to the restricted access – with the inquisitive Chennai public actively seeking out information.
The event generated a torrent of publicity in six television stations on prime time. The post-publicity for the event included 27 Indian newspapers featuring the event in their columns the following day! With an extremely small budget, a launch of this nature would not have been as successful had it not been for the PR-led communication strategy that was adopted.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Christina's Autobiography
A Child Is Born
I came into this world one night, surrounded by a group of ladies in white uniforms. The wall-clock chimed 8 o’clock. So, this was the world, I thought – a place surrounded by four walls with pictures of babies on them.
Amidst these blurred memories, two people stand out. They wore big smiles on their faces and had tears of happiness in their eyes... My parents had just had their first child..! What happened next surprised me a little. One of the ladies in white carried me and started jumping around, shouting "Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny!” She looked like a bunny rabbit herself. That’s when I realized that I had been born on Easter Sunday, 19th April 1992.
Three days later, I was taken out of the hospital and driven home. The world was much bigger than I had initially thought. My parents decided to call me Christina, which means ‘Christ is in you’.
My Gigantic Playpen
When I was 3 months old, while Mum’s back was turned, I was exploring the borders of my bed and rolled over the edge. I hurt myself slightly; Mum and I cried together, she out of embarrassment and I out of shock... The bed was shifted out and the whole family slept on mattresses.
About a year later, I woke up at 3 o’clock in the morning. My parents were fast asleep and I was wide awake. Not wanting to disturb them, I went exploring again. I went to the kitchen and started played with the utensils there. Those seemed like fun toys – Mum was always playing with them. But my parents woke up for the racket I was making with the vessels.
That was when Mum decided to put two wooden gates on both doors leading to the bedroom. So, I had a spacious playpen – the size of a bedroom, with a wall-to-wall mattress and all my toys.
My Favourite Toy
I was not very possessive about my toys, except for one particular stuffed clown with patchwork clothes, whom I called ‘Clowny’. I treated Clowny like a friend and took him wherever I went, like Mary’s little lamb. Clowny accompanied me to restaurants, to the park, for walks, and even to my relatives’ houses.
I asked my parents to put out an extra plate at mealtimes, on which there was some food that Clowny used to eat. (It was only later that I realized that my Daddy used to eat the food when I was not looking.)
Before my third birthday, Mum gave birth to a little baby boy, my brother – and my parents named him Jonathan. The first thing I did when I saw him was to give him that clown which I really loved… because I loved my brother more.
The Play-School Days
Soon after that, I started going to a play-school called ‘Little Flowers’. On the first day, when I let go of Mum’s hand and said “Bye, Momma”, I was smiling. But I was surprised to see that there were tears in her eyes!
Once, when I was about three years old, I wanted to give my brother a bath. Mum obviously said, “No”. This made me upset; how could they restrict my freedom like that? So, I protested by packing two panties in a basket and – without a word - walked to my Grandma’s house, which was a block away.
Mum got extremely worried when she couldn’t find me anywhere in the house. On the verge of tears, she came to Grandma’s house to ask them for help to find me. There I was, sitting on my aunt’s lap, laughing away as if I didn’t have a care in the world.
Entering the Real World
Soon, it was time for me to join a real school – St Francis Xavier’s Girls’ High School (SFX). I remember looking at the big girls on the first day and wondering when I would be as confident as they were. In school, I met new people and made a group of friends - Swetha, Swaroop, Tanushree and Aakriti.
From preparatory class to Standard I was a big change. I had to learn a lot more than the alphabet and numbers from one to ten. I was learning reading, writing and arithmetic; these were the foundation of all the education that was to come. The most difficult was learning how to manage without nap time and snack time!
I started taking Bharatanatyam classes before my tenth birthday. My first dance performance took place at the Vincent Palotti Church Hall, after one year of classes. I have performed on stage on ten different occasions. As I grew older, the studies became more difficult and I had to discontinue this hobby.
The Wonderful Years
Some classmates and I, accompanied by our mothers, went together to a resort called Happy Homes. We stayed up all night – talking, laughing and taking photographs. Early morning, we went for a walk without telling anybody. It was so exciting because we the children got our own space, without parents interfering in our fun.
That was our first ‘sleepover’ experience (my Daddy says it should be called a ‘wakeover’!) and it was unforgettable. During summer holidays, I used to go for summer camps and swimming camps. But I used to enjoy these sleepovers most. We used to be mischievous, putting powder on each others’ heads. We used to stay up the entire night, talking about how we would always be friends. We used to eat chocolate at 2 o’clock in the morning, have pillow fights, watch movies and paint each others’ nails.
Every Sunday, we used to have family dinners at Grandpa’s house. Then, we used to convince my Daddy to buy ice-creams for us from Corner House. Even as I write this, I can imagine the delicious taste of Hot Chocolate Fudge. Slurp!
Independence Days
The first time I was allowed to go out without my parents was on my thirteenth birthday. My friends and I visited a mall called Forum, had lunch at KFC and watched a movie called ‘Yours, Mine and Ours’. It was loads of fun, being without our parents. We went to a clothing shop called Mint, where we tried on clothes. We clicked photographs, posing in gowns and boots – and sunglasses as large as our faces!
Moving to high school was another big step - I had become a Big Girl. The teachers treated us like adults and were like friends to us. I would rate Standard VIII as my best year so far… I remember our school carnival ‘Xtravaganza’. I was part of the staff in the functioning of the ‘Horror House’. So, I spent the entire three days of the carnival in school and practically came home only to sleep.
What Will Be Will Be
I had always wanted to be a pediatrician because I love science and children. But once, when my Mum was feeling very ill, I accompanied her to a clinic to consult a doctor. She had to take an injection and I was standing next to her, holding her hand. On seeing the medicine going from the syringe into her arm, I felt faintish and needed a seat. I realized that it was time for me to choose a different profession!
I listed down all the things that I liked to do. As I love to decorate my room, and my friends always call me to help them set up their rooms, I finally came to the conclusion that I would be an interior designer some day.
Standard IX
The 9th standard brought with it a higher level of studies, more freedom and self-control - and the ability to raise my voice! I also traveled overseas for the first time – to Sri Lanka. That was where I saw more than fifty elephants in an ‘orphanage’ for abandoned elephants in a place called Pinnawela.
Once, a friend’s cousin was getting married and she had sent all of us invitations to attend her grand wedding. Eight girls - Swetha, Swaroop, Tanushree, Roopa, Manisha, Sarah, Nell and I - dressed up and went for the reception at Palace Grounds. It was like a carnival! There was not only main course food like tasty chicken biriyani, but also cotton candy, pastries, popcorn, ice-lollies, and various kinds of desserts. It was the most fun weddings I have ever been to.
Now and Forever
I realize that I have only one more year at SFX and I am now in the 10th standard - the highest level of seniority in school. Little girls will look up at me and wonder when they will be as confident as I am.
The many lessons that I have learnt as a student of SFX will surely help in life. I owe it all to my parents and teachers. They have guided me during my formative years and made me what I am. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. May God bless them!
I came into this world one night, surrounded by a group of ladies in white uniforms. The wall-clock chimed 8 o’clock. So, this was the world, I thought – a place surrounded by four walls with pictures of babies on them.
Amidst these blurred memories, two people stand out. They wore big smiles on their faces and had tears of happiness in their eyes... My parents had just had their first child..! What happened next surprised me a little. One of the ladies in white carried me and started jumping around, shouting "Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny!” She looked like a bunny rabbit herself. That’s when I realized that I had been born on Easter Sunday, 19th April 1992.
Three days later, I was taken out of the hospital and driven home. The world was much bigger than I had initially thought. My parents decided to call me Christina, which means ‘Christ is in you’.
My Gigantic Playpen
When I was 3 months old, while Mum’s back was turned, I was exploring the borders of my bed and rolled over the edge. I hurt myself slightly; Mum and I cried together, she out of embarrassment and I out of shock... The bed was shifted out and the whole family slept on mattresses.
About a year later, I woke up at 3 o’clock in the morning. My parents were fast asleep and I was wide awake. Not wanting to disturb them, I went exploring again. I went to the kitchen and started played with the utensils there. Those seemed like fun toys – Mum was always playing with them. But my parents woke up for the racket I was making with the vessels.
That was when Mum decided to put two wooden gates on both doors leading to the bedroom. So, I had a spacious playpen – the size of a bedroom, with a wall-to-wall mattress and all my toys.
My Favourite Toy
I was not very possessive about my toys, except for one particular stuffed clown with patchwork clothes, whom I called ‘Clowny’. I treated Clowny like a friend and took him wherever I went, like Mary’s little lamb. Clowny accompanied me to restaurants, to the park, for walks, and even to my relatives’ houses.
I asked my parents to put out an extra plate at mealtimes, on which there was some food that Clowny used to eat. (It was only later that I realized that my Daddy used to eat the food when I was not looking.)
Before my third birthday, Mum gave birth to a little baby boy, my brother – and my parents named him Jonathan. The first thing I did when I saw him was to give him that clown which I really loved… because I loved my brother more.
The Play-School Days
Soon after that, I started going to a play-school called ‘Little Flowers’. On the first day, when I let go of Mum’s hand and said “Bye, Momma”, I was smiling. But I was surprised to see that there were tears in her eyes!
Once, when I was about three years old, I wanted to give my brother a bath. Mum obviously said, “No”. This made me upset; how could they restrict my freedom like that? So, I protested by packing two panties in a basket and – without a word - walked to my Grandma’s house, which was a block away.
Mum got extremely worried when she couldn’t find me anywhere in the house. On the verge of tears, she came to Grandma’s house to ask them for help to find me. There I was, sitting on my aunt’s lap, laughing away as if I didn’t have a care in the world.
Entering the Real World
Soon, it was time for me to join a real school – St Francis Xavier’s Girls’ High School (SFX). I remember looking at the big girls on the first day and wondering when I would be as confident as they were. In school, I met new people and made a group of friends - Swetha, Swaroop, Tanushree and Aakriti.
From preparatory class to Standard I was a big change. I had to learn a lot more than the alphabet and numbers from one to ten. I was learning reading, writing and arithmetic; these were the foundation of all the education that was to come. The most difficult was learning how to manage without nap time and snack time!
I started taking Bharatanatyam classes before my tenth birthday. My first dance performance took place at the Vincent Palotti Church Hall, after one year of classes. I have performed on stage on ten different occasions. As I grew older, the studies became more difficult and I had to discontinue this hobby.
The Wonderful Years
Some classmates and I, accompanied by our mothers, went together to a resort called Happy Homes. We stayed up all night – talking, laughing and taking photographs. Early morning, we went for a walk without telling anybody. It was so exciting because we the children got our own space, without parents interfering in our fun.
That was our first ‘sleepover’ experience (my Daddy says it should be called a ‘wakeover’!) and it was unforgettable. During summer holidays, I used to go for summer camps and swimming camps. But I used to enjoy these sleepovers most. We used to be mischievous, putting powder on each others’ heads. We used to stay up the entire night, talking about how we would always be friends. We used to eat chocolate at 2 o’clock in the morning, have pillow fights, watch movies and paint each others’ nails.
Every Sunday, we used to have family dinners at Grandpa’s house. Then, we used to convince my Daddy to buy ice-creams for us from Corner House. Even as I write this, I can imagine the delicious taste of Hot Chocolate Fudge. Slurp!
Independence Days
The first time I was allowed to go out without my parents was on my thirteenth birthday. My friends and I visited a mall called Forum, had lunch at KFC and watched a movie called ‘Yours, Mine and Ours’. It was loads of fun, being without our parents. We went to a clothing shop called Mint, where we tried on clothes. We clicked photographs, posing in gowns and boots – and sunglasses as large as our faces!
Moving to high school was another big step - I had become a Big Girl. The teachers treated us like adults and were like friends to us. I would rate Standard VIII as my best year so far… I remember our school carnival ‘Xtravaganza’. I was part of the staff in the functioning of the ‘Horror House’. So, I spent the entire three days of the carnival in school and practically came home only to sleep.
What Will Be Will Be
I had always wanted to be a pediatrician because I love science and children. But once, when my Mum was feeling very ill, I accompanied her to a clinic to consult a doctor. She had to take an injection and I was standing next to her, holding her hand. On seeing the medicine going from the syringe into her arm, I felt faintish and needed a seat. I realized that it was time for me to choose a different profession!
I listed down all the things that I liked to do. As I love to decorate my room, and my friends always call me to help them set up their rooms, I finally came to the conclusion that I would be an interior designer some day.
Standard IX
The 9th standard brought with it a higher level of studies, more freedom and self-control - and the ability to raise my voice! I also traveled overseas for the first time – to Sri Lanka. That was where I saw more than fifty elephants in an ‘orphanage’ for abandoned elephants in a place called Pinnawela.
Once, a friend’s cousin was getting married and she had sent all of us invitations to attend her grand wedding. Eight girls - Swetha, Swaroop, Tanushree, Roopa, Manisha, Sarah, Nell and I - dressed up and went for the reception at Palace Grounds. It was like a carnival! There was not only main course food like tasty chicken biriyani, but also cotton candy, pastries, popcorn, ice-lollies, and various kinds of desserts. It was the most fun weddings I have ever been to.
Now and Forever
I realize that I have only one more year at SFX and I am now in the 10th standard - the highest level of seniority in school. Little girls will look up at me and wonder when they will be as confident as I am.
The many lessons that I have learnt as a student of SFX will surely help in life. I owe it all to my parents and teachers. They have guided me during my formative years and made me what I am. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. May God bless them!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Who Will Bell The Cat?
M B S Fernando, Chairman of the Road Development Authority (RDA), has views that are somewhat radical but certainly worthy of consideration. Talking to The Sunday Times FT last week, he said, “To solve our transportation problem, we need to invest on public transport systems instead.”
The occupancy of an average car plying on the roads is only 1.3 passengers. A bus built for forty, however, carries one hundred commuters. Fernando points out that this represents uneconomical utilization of available road space – and leads to traffic congestion. The problem is that we are not paying adequate attention to improving public transport and infrastructure.
Who will foot the bill? Fernando proposes that the money be raised from private car owners. “We import 400 million litres of petrol,” he says, “most of which is consumed by car owners... Charge higher prices for petrol and invest the extra proceeds in public transport.”
If we were to increase the price of petrol by Rs 100 per litre, Fernando suggests, that could generate Rs 40 billion. Even with lower demand, we would generate Rs 20 billion to invest in state-of-the-art buses and trains, which are clean and run according to timetables.
The only reason why such a price increase would not be popular is because chairmen of corporations and heads of departments decide policy. These are the very persons who enjoy free cars and petrol as a perquisite! But Fernando has a sugar-coated solution for that too…
It costs Rs 75,000 per month to maintain a car for a public servant. Instead, Fernando suggests that Rs 50,000 be added to his salary in lieu of the perquisite. If the public servant uses public transport, he will still be able to save Rs 35,000. Any takers?
The occupancy of an average car plying on the roads is only 1.3 passengers. A bus built for forty, however, carries one hundred commuters. Fernando points out that this represents uneconomical utilization of available road space – and leads to traffic congestion. The problem is that we are not paying adequate attention to improving public transport and infrastructure.
Who will foot the bill? Fernando proposes that the money be raised from private car owners. “We import 400 million litres of petrol,” he says, “most of which is consumed by car owners... Charge higher prices for petrol and invest the extra proceeds in public transport.”
If we were to increase the price of petrol by Rs 100 per litre, Fernando suggests, that could generate Rs 40 billion. Even with lower demand, we would generate Rs 20 billion to invest in state-of-the-art buses and trains, which are clean and run according to timetables.
The only reason why such a price increase would not be popular is because chairmen of corporations and heads of departments decide policy. These are the very persons who enjoy free cars and petrol as a perquisite! But Fernando has a sugar-coated solution for that too…
It costs Rs 75,000 per month to maintain a car for a public servant. Instead, Fernando suggests that Rs 50,000 be added to his salary in lieu of the perquisite. If the public servant uses public transport, he will still be able to save Rs 35,000. Any takers?
Stalls, Seminars & Positive Buzz
“Construction is the main driver of infrastructure development,” declares Dakshitha Thalagodapitiya, the amiable CEO of the Chamber of Construction Industry (CCI). Being the apex body of the construction industry, the chamber boasts of more than 250 corporate members. Thalagodapitiya was addressing a press conference this week in connection with EXCON 2007, the annual trade fair of the CCI.
EXCON 2007 is being held at the BMICH from May 11th to 13th. The purpose of the exhibition is twofold - to build capacities in the industry and to enhance its competitiveness. EXCON 2007 will unite and enlighten all principal stakeholders, including a large number of construction service providers. There will be 200 exhibition stalls.
The SME sector, accounting for more than 80% of the industry, is being encouraged to form consortiums, establish joint ventures and seek opportunities through mergers.
The CCI is working with the Export Development Board (EDB) to also groom larger companies to undertake overseas projects and to export professional services. At its Export Readiness Clinic, the EDB will demonstrate a software tool that can assess the readiness of prospective exporters. There will also be a seminar that provides pointers to Sri Lankan companies intending to go global.
The principal sponsor of the trade fair is Metso Minerals of New Zealand. Its exhibit - manufactured sand - is expected to be much sought after, being superior to river sand. Metso Minerals’ local representative, Altaf Halil, confirmed that manufactured sand has no impurities and can therefore help achieve greater strength using less cement. Besides, manufactured sand costs less than Rs 4,000 per cube, whereas the price of river sand has increased to almost 7,000 per cube lately. This price increase has been accentuated by the restrictions on mining of river sand.
There are other stalls that help in improving quality of construction while keeping costs down. Practical Action, a British NGO, will be introducing a new and cost-effective construction technology at the trade fair. Their local arm will also conduct a seminar on reducing construction costs.
Holcim Lanka Ltd, EXCON 2007’s strategic partner, will be launching application-based cement called ‘Holcim Piyasa’ at the fair. This is a special mix that will be priced less than normal cement and is targeted for the rural housing market. The company’s representative, Indika Jayaweera says, “We have different cements for different applications.” He describes Holcim Lanka as the only integrated manufacturer of cement in Sri Lanka.
Talking of the hurdles confronting the industry, Thalagodapitiya highlights the shortage of construction labour. He indicates that this is being addressed through a plan to train one lakh craftsmen in four years.
The exhibition will cost Rs 7 million, which is being met by its sponsors. ”Admission is free and we expect that 80,000 people will attend,” concludes Thalagodapitiya. Sponsors include Harris Ceylon Ltd, GTB Colombo Corporation, Road Development Authority, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Board of Investment, Sri Lanka Insurance and State Mortgage & Investment Bank.
EXCON 2007 is being held at the BMICH from May 11th to 13th. The purpose of the exhibition is twofold - to build capacities in the industry and to enhance its competitiveness. EXCON 2007 will unite and enlighten all principal stakeholders, including a large number of construction service providers. There will be 200 exhibition stalls.
The SME sector, accounting for more than 80% of the industry, is being encouraged to form consortiums, establish joint ventures and seek opportunities through mergers.
The CCI is working with the Export Development Board (EDB) to also groom larger companies to undertake overseas projects and to export professional services. At its Export Readiness Clinic, the EDB will demonstrate a software tool that can assess the readiness of prospective exporters. There will also be a seminar that provides pointers to Sri Lankan companies intending to go global.
The principal sponsor of the trade fair is Metso Minerals of New Zealand. Its exhibit - manufactured sand - is expected to be much sought after, being superior to river sand. Metso Minerals’ local representative, Altaf Halil, confirmed that manufactured sand has no impurities and can therefore help achieve greater strength using less cement. Besides, manufactured sand costs less than Rs 4,000 per cube, whereas the price of river sand has increased to almost 7,000 per cube lately. This price increase has been accentuated by the restrictions on mining of river sand.
There are other stalls that help in improving quality of construction while keeping costs down. Practical Action, a British NGO, will be introducing a new and cost-effective construction technology at the trade fair. Their local arm will also conduct a seminar on reducing construction costs.
Holcim Lanka Ltd, EXCON 2007’s strategic partner, will be launching application-based cement called ‘Holcim Piyasa’ at the fair. This is a special mix that will be priced less than normal cement and is targeted for the rural housing market. The company’s representative, Indika Jayaweera says, “We have different cements for different applications.” He describes Holcim Lanka as the only integrated manufacturer of cement in Sri Lanka.
Talking of the hurdles confronting the industry, Thalagodapitiya highlights the shortage of construction labour. He indicates that this is being addressed through a plan to train one lakh craftsmen in four years.
The exhibition will cost Rs 7 million, which is being met by its sponsors. ”Admission is free and we expect that 80,000 people will attend,” concludes Thalagodapitiya. Sponsors include Harris Ceylon Ltd, GTB Colombo Corporation, Road Development Authority, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Board of Investment, Sri Lanka Insurance and State Mortgage & Investment Bank.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
And The Living Is Easy
My immediate reaction - on seeing Mr BB’s mail on ‘Divisional Manager’ promotions - was, “I would probably have been on that list had it not been for this unfortunate episode”. For the time-being, however, I am just happy to be alive…
Frank Sinatra put it nicely:
“Regrets, I've had a few,
But then again, too few to mention.”
Marina, Chris and Jonty are scheduled to arrive in Colombo on May 8th. They will be here for two weeks, during the children’s summer vacation, and we will be staying at the Ranveli Beach Resort in Mount Lavinia.
I will not be able do much writing until their departure on until May 22nd.
Frank Sinatra put it nicely:
“Regrets, I've had a few,
But then again, too few to mention.”
Marina, Chris and Jonty are scheduled to arrive in Colombo on May 8th. They will be here for two weeks, during the children’s summer vacation, and we will be staying at the Ranveli Beach Resort in Mount Lavinia.
I will not be able do much writing until their departure on until May 22nd.
NL: Catman Returns, To Mumbai
Abhijit has decided to call it quits… If we thought life before was chaotic, this is worse.
BAM 2007: You were sorely missed and we even kept bugging Sashi Menon as to how he could have been so inconsiderate… He gave us some long spiel about government regulations!
(AM: Did you know that Phuket was a major transit point for LTTE arms and ammunition?)
We gave Abhijit an informal farewell... Aarti and I made him a scrap book of memories and I think he was quite touched... We gave him champagne flutes from us - Category Team and Vincent… It was good fun… although some people had to crawl back home.
BAM 2007: You were sorely missed and we even kept bugging Sashi Menon as to how he could have been so inconsiderate… He gave us some long spiel about government regulations!
(AM: Did you know that Phuket was a major transit point for LTTE arms and ammunition?)
We gave Abhijit an informal farewell... Aarti and I made him a scrap book of memories and I think he was quite touched... We gave him champagne flutes from us - Category Team and Vincent… It was good fun… although some people had to crawl back home.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Gadgets and Biz Intelligence
AA: Read about the air-raid… Hope all’s well with you.
AM: The air-raid seems to have served its purpose - there is a fear psychosis in Colombo. The LTTE has been behaving like a yuppie with a new gadget, eager to show off its newly-acquired air power. They are by no means a spent force, despite the territorial losses that they have sustained on the ground.
Your mail implies that you were at Phuket… Did you have a fun time? Was it too good to write home about?
When I pressed the memory recall button for ‘BI’, I got ‘business intelligence’. I thought that was inappropriate in the DTC context.
AM: The air-raid seems to have served its purpose - there is a fear psychosis in Colombo. The LTTE has been behaving like a yuppie with a new gadget, eager to show off its newly-acquired air power. They are by no means a spent force, despite the territorial losses that they have sustained on the ground.
Your mail implies that you were at Phuket… Did you have a fun time? Was it too good to write home about?
When I pressed the memory recall button for ‘BI’, I got ‘business intelligence’. I thought that was inappropriate in the DTC context.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
A Good Egg, Scrambled
I tried my hand at anagrams, attempting to develop a nom de plume. So, what do you get when you unscramble ANTONY MOTHA? A good egg - no doubt, but I was referring to the letters.
MONTY ON A HAT – My favourite. You can almost visualize the little fellow in a comparative state of undress, prancing on a sombrero
ANNA MY TOOTH – Highly feminine. It reminds me of a toothache and a sweet tooth, both sensations associated with that particular gender
MATT YOHANNO – Macho. The first association is with Matt Dillon. And I did have a class-mate called 'Yohann Basu' once
HATTAN Y-MOON – Kind of lunatic, but don’t reject it outright. The UN Secretary General’s name is even more prohibitive: Ban Ki-moon!
What do you think?
MONTY ON A HAT – My favourite. You can almost visualize the little fellow in a comparative state of undress, prancing on a sombrero
ANNA MY TOOTH – Highly feminine. It reminds me of a toothache and a sweet tooth, both sensations associated with that particular gender
MATT YOHANNO – Macho. The first association is with Matt Dillon. And I did have a class-mate called 'Yohann Basu' once
HATTAN Y-MOON – Kind of lunatic, but don’t reject it outright. The UN Secretary General’s name is even more prohibitive: Ban Ki-moon!
What do you think?
Marina Writes To Bhaskar Bhat
Our family would not have survived this ordeal had it not been for God’s grace and Titan’s support. This brief note is to express our sincere gratitude to Titan for the support and assurances that you have given to our family over this period.
In a sense, Titan has always been an extension of our home because Antony and I got married soon after he joined Titan! He continues to be as loyal an employee as he has been over the past sixteen years.
As you can imagine, being without their father has been difficult for the children... Despite the odds, I am happy to inform you that our children have done us proud.
In a sense, Titan has always been an extension of our home because Antony and I got married soon after he joined Titan! He continues to be as loyal an employee as he has been over the past sixteen years.
As you can imagine, being without their father has been difficult for the children... Despite the odds, I am happy to inform you that our children have done us proud.
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