Business Unusual

Grape grower reaps great rewards

By Naomi Gunasekara in Ibbagamuwa

Located on the Kurunegala-Anuradhapura main road, the nursery is full of bougainvillea bushes covered with blooms of the most delicate shades of cream, pink and mauve, bud-carnation trees full of scarlet and pink blooms and a number of fruit trees full of half-ripe fruit like guava, mango, orange as well as king coconut trees.

According to H. B. Weesinghe, paddy farmer turned agriculturist and the owner of the plant nursery; his grape clusters have been the talk of the town since he reaped his first harvest six months ago. "I experiment a lot with plants and have a special hut to conduct my experiments. I planted a grape plant in this hut about one-and-a half years ago and monitored its growth. When its leaves started changing colour I covered it with a polythene and it started growing," said a beaming Weesinghe, dressed in a blue sarong and white shirt.

A man of few words, Weesinghe took time and much coaxing to share his experience as a grower of grape clusters. Having witnessed the success of his experiment, Weesinghe has planted grape clusters in a special house at his nursery; "I used the green-house system to provide the clusters with the humidity they require because this system also protects the clusters from various diseases and rain."

Passing a variety of pots full of flowers, Weesinghe walked towards his grape bed covered with polythene. "This cost me over Rs. One-and-a-half lakhs but I feel that I have achieved something each time I enter the bed," he said opening the iron door that led to his grape bed. The bed was full of greenery and among the green leaves were bunches of unripe grapes. "This system is called the green-house system. It protects the grapevine from insects because the entire bed is covered with polythene. With this system, any farmer in Sri Lanka will be able to reap a grape harvest without any problem because the hut maintains the right temperature required for the growth of grape clusters."

Mostly in Jaffna

Grapes have been grown initially in areas like Jaffna and Kalpitiya, where the temperature is high, as grape clusters require a temperature of 32-40C. "The grape harvest in those areas was often affected by sudden rain and disease as the fruits were uncovered. The fruit tends to split due to the direct fall of rainwater. But under this system there will be no such problems because the grapes are fully covered and protected from natural elements."

Weesinghe's grape-bed gives him an income of about Rs. 15,000 when the harvest is reaped once in six months. But his main income comes from selling grape plants and not the 30-kilo harvest, says Weesinghe who feels that his income will grow as the clusters fill the bed. "The Agriculture Department buys a plant at Rs. 90 and my income is mostly derived from selling these plants than reaping the harvest."

Sampath Plant Nursery sells over 2,000 grape plants every six months when the grape harvest is reaped and Weesinghe has over 2,000 plants ready for sale at the nursery. "I want to start two more beds with two different varieties of grapes so that I'll have plants for sale throughout the year."

His new grape-beds will grow Cardinal and Azure Blue to provide the Agriculture Department with an opportunity to select their products. "What I have is Black Muscat. It will grow in the years to come and give me a better income. But in the meantime I want to start more beds to boost my income," he said.

The grape clusters do not need much attention according to Weesinghe because they are protected; "You only have to water them in the evenings and put some cow-dung or dry grape leaves," says Weesinghe, who adds that an occasional insect check is also necessary in case the polythene is broken or the hut door is kept open for a long time. When the grapevine bears fruit, however, constant checks are required to remove the small fruit and allow the good fruit to grow bigger.

Victoria Park

Having been in the plant business for over 22 years, Weesinghe's main customer is the Agriculture Department. Those who go on trips to Anuradhapura often stop at his nursery, says Weesinghe, who has recently sold hundreds of plants to the Victoria Park.

His wife and three sons help him in the business despite a rift in the family in the early 80s over his decision to abandon paddy farming, said Weesinghe with a shy smile. "I always had a nice garden and when the late Ranjan Wijeratna (former deputy defence minister) visited us in 1979 he advised me to start a plant nursery. I didn't derive a good income from paddy cultivation those days so I decided to start the nursery."

Having started the nursery against the wishes of his wife, Weesinghe is doing extremely well today. He won an Agrimart Award in 1993 and was sent to Thailand for training. "Although my wife didn't approve my decision to start the nursery she supported me throughout. Now my brothers too have nurseries of their own."

Weesinghe has trained over 100 youth at his nursery for the Agriculture Department and feels that he will do better in the future with his grape business catching on. "Some people from a big company met me last week and inquired about the grape business and the green-house system. They told me that my business provides a good solution to the severe drought that is expected in 2004."

At 52, Weesinghe is quite content with his business venture. While his wife runs a fertiliser and seed shop adjacent to his nursery, Weesinghe intends to experiment more and venture into apple cultivation at his nursery. "I haven't found the right combination for apples yet. But as soon as I discover it I will plant apple trees," says a persevering Weesinghe who is determined to see that his nursery is full of apples in the near future.

Pears Baby - another local jewel

By Sonali Siriwardena 

Manufactured and marketed by Unilever Ceylon Limited, Pears Baby powder and soap launched in 1960 and 1964 respectively, today have carved a permanent niche in the Sri Lankan market.

Of these Pears Soap is unique in being an indigenous brand or 'local jewel' found only in Sri Lanka. Endorsed by the Royal institute of Public Health and packaged in white to communicate purity, mildness, safety and good quality, the product has now become a brand that Sri Lankan mothers have learnt to trust and rely on, and relate to with confidence.

The Pears Baby range, built on the promise of purity, mildness and 100% safety, has over the years grown to include a number of other products such as cream, cologne, oil and shampoo, in several pack sizes to cater to all need and price segments of the market.

Emirates scoops new travel award

This is first time the Dubai-based international airline has won the coveted industry accolade in the face of fierce competition from the previous winner, Singapore Airlines.

Mohammed Shareef Raheem, Emirates' General Manager UK and Ireland, said: "It is a great honour to be recognised by the meetings and incentive industry in this way. It endorses our efforts to enhance the quality of our service."

The ceremony took place on the eve of International Confex, the UK's premier incentive travel event.

Foreign investors are SL's best ambassadors-

"If investors can promote Sri Lanka as an investor-friendly country this would help the country in a big way to fulfill its objectives," Mahendran told a press conference called by Prima Ceylon Ltd (PCL) last week to divulge its expansion plans.

For Sri Lanka to achieve decent economic growth this year onwards, infrastructure facilities need to be improved and such problems must be eliminated, he added.''The Prima investment is a significant one in which technology was transferred into our country at no cost,'' Mahendran said.

Last week Prima changed the operational structure by converting the company to Build-Own-Operate (BOO) from Build-Operation-Transfer (BOT), enabling the company to look for export markets for wheat flour.

Prima last year paid US$ 65 million to the government to convert the structure, resulting in the successful export of wheat flour to the value of Rs. 128 million.

The company's success in exports will very much depend on the government's policy on export promotion, General Manager Prima, Lin Hsin Hui said.

Arthur Andersen in talks with KPMG on merger 

The overseas network of Arthur Andersen, former auditor of the failed energy company Enron, has begun talks with KPMG International, another of the world's five biggest accounting firms, on a possible merger, the two companies have announced.

Arthur Andersen executives were quoted by news agencies as saying that their proposed union would be immune from any liabilities its U.S. affiliate might incur from the collapse of Enron Corp.

"We are currently exploring how our business activities in the most important countries of Europe, Africa, the Near East, Canada, Asia and Latin America can be merged," Harold Weidemann, head of KMPG Germany, said in a statement issued by the two companies.

"Any such combination would create a global network that can continue to provide outstanding service in every part of the world and represents an outstanding opportunity for our partners and people," said Aldo Cardoso, Chairman of the Board of Andersen Worldwide.

The news came after several European divisions of the Andersen accounting network said they aimed to quit the international firm amid an investigation into the collapse of Enron Corp.

Geneva-based Andersen Worldwide is the overseeing body of Andersen, a global network of professional service companies in 85 countries, including Arthur Andersen in the United States.

Executives of Andersen Worldwide's British business said they hoped the merger would be completed before October. The combined business would be called KPMG.

Merger talks between KPMG and Andersen's affiliates in Asia will continue even if talks with Andersen's European divisions fail, said Colin Holland, chief operating officer of KPMG International, speaking in Singapore. KPMG International has member firms in 150 countries and headquarters in Amsterdam.

Andersen Worldwide's non-U.S. operations are legally separate entities from Chicago-based Arthur Andersen and would not be affected by any Enron-related penalties incurred by the U.S. division, company officials said.

U.S. federal authorities have charged Arthur Andersen with obstructing justice by destroying thousands of documents and deleting computer files about its audit of Enron. Andersen denies the charges.

Although Andersen's structure means its overseas divisions are not entangled in the Enron case, the investigation has blackened its brand name. Dozens of blue chip clients, such as Delta Airlines and drug maker Merck and Co., have fired Andersen in the United States after decades-long relationships.

Geneva-based Andersen Worldwide has talked with several of its rivals - members of the so-called Big Five accounting firms - about a possible sale of its assets. Except for KPMG, none were interested in pursuing a deal, due to concerns about the U.S. division's potential liabilities from the Enron case.

Separately, a spokesman for the sixth-largest U.S. accounting firm, Chicago-based BDO Seidman, said on Tuesday it is in talks with Andersen about possibly acquiring "some or much" of Andersen's U.S. operations.

Andersen Worldwide's Asian affiliates were unanimous in their support for a global merger with KPMG, executives from both companies told reporters in Singapore.

Aldo Cardoso, chairman of Andersen Worldwide's board of partners, said Andersen's 13 Asian divisions would negotiate as a block instead of as individual units in their effort to distance themselves from their U.S. affiliate's problems.

Andersen has about 86,000 employees worldwide, with about 28,000 in the United States.

The union still would have to meet regulatory approval. At least one industry expert foresaw potential problems in Europe.

"I cannot imagine the European Union allowing all of Andersen outside the United States to go into one firm. It would be too much of a concentration of power," said Arthur Bowman, editor of Atlanta-based Bowman's Accounting Report newsletter.

Bowman said he expected national deals to be worked out and announced individually.

Arthur Andersen said it will remain part of the Andersen Worldwide network until October 1 or until a deal is reached with its foreign affiliates. SJ Associates (Someswaran & Jayawickreme) are the Sri Lanka representatives for Andersen.