Sri Lankan export of cloves this year is expected to hit record levels for the first time in the history of the crop when exports will surpass the 5000 tonnes figure and foreign exchange earnings will be over Rs.3 billion, according to Past Chairman of the Spices and Allied Products Producers and Traders Association (SAPPTA) Gulam Chatoor. During January to June 2008, Sri Lanka has already exported 4838 tonnes of the spice and should end up exporting around 5500 tonnes by the end of the year.

Earnings from exports during the first six months of 2008 have been Rs.2.7 billion and it is estimated that this figure should go beyond Rs. 3 billion, Mr Chatoor said. Exports of cloves from Sri Lanka have been mainly to India as Sri Lankan cloves enter India duty free under the Indo Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) as against a tariff of 27 to 35 percent applicable to other origins. Of the total exports from Sri Lanka, over 90 percent is exported to India and this trend is expected to continue as long as the advantageous tariff continues to be made available to Sri Lanka, he said.

The Sri Lankan Department of Commerce (the certificate of origin issuing authority under ISFTA), the Customs department and SAFFTA have been policing the system of issuing certificates of origin with a view to guarding against cloves from other origins going to India via Sri Lanka and claiming the zero tariff, wrongly. The system has been perfected to ensure that only indigenous cloves enjoy the tariff concession granted under ISFTA, said Mr Chatoor.