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"I'm
getting married in the morning"
By Naomi Gunasekara
Brides-to-be pondered over posies of rose buds of the most delicate
shades of pink, yellow, orange and cream while beauticians and bridal-dressers
examined half-a-dozen other varieties like violets, lilies, orchids,
daffodils, babies' breath and daisies. Carefully selecting flowers,
they scanned each and every corner of the shop in search of that
perfect flower that would make a bridal ensemble complete or add
special flavour to the church or poruwa ceremony.
Situated down
Bankshall Street, which is narrow, dirty and smelly like most Pettah
streets, the flower shops are full of bright flowers that downplay
the street's hostile appearance. Small-scale vendors, bridal-dressers,
beauticians and brides-to-be walk in and out of tiny flower shops
looking for a particular type of flower or leaf as employees busy
themselves unpacking bundles of flowers, arranging them in buckets
or racks or counting them for sale.
Souvenirs
for pilgrims
Though artificial, the flowers, neatly stacked in ceiling-high racks,
looked every inch natural and full of life. "Plastic flowers
can be washed and have a long life span. That is why people buy
more and more of these flowers," says photographer R. T. Siriwardena
from southern Rathgama, who sells artificial flowers at his studio.
"In foreign countries there is a big demand for fresh cut flowers
but this is not so in Sri Lanka. We seem to want things that are
durable."
Siriwardena's
clients comprise devotees who come to the Rathgama Temple. He only
sells flowers that are priced between Rs. 10 and Rs. 100 because
most of his customers comprise the poorer segments of society that
come on pilgrimages to present dhanes. "A lot of them come
from rural areas and prefer taking something inexpensive as a souvenir."
Buyers from
all over
The latest addition to the string of 10 Pettah shops, Arti Flowers,
was full of bright flowers with plain and multi-hued petals. Surrounded
by dozens of roses, lilies, geraniums, orchids, anthuriums, daisies
and violets, snowy-haired N. M. Absar always welcomed his clients
with a wide smile. "We supply artificial flowers to the market
and have buyers coming from all over the country," said Absar,
who opened the shop recently because of the growing demand for artificial
flowers.
Most of Absar's
clients consist those who engage in beauty-culture and bridal dressing.
"Business is good in June and July because there are many weddings.
We supply all the flowers, leaves and other decorations required
for bridal bouquets. The biggest demand is for roses and rosebuds
and we try to give the customers what they want."
Christmas and
Avurudhu too sees an increase of income yet the income throughout
the year varies according to Absar. But it is not a bad business
if you know how to handle your clientele and meet their demands.
"You must give them what they want. Not what you have,"
he said, laying a couple of gold-coated roses on a glass table.
"These roses don't come this way. We have got them dipped in
gold paint to meet market demand."
Despite the
wet atmosphere, last Tuesday morning didn't seem gloomy for A. M.
Jaufer Sadeek of Raja Malwatte Traders, who entered the flower business
four years ago. One of the key players in the business, Sadeek finds
it somewhat difficult to keep pace with the intense competition.
"We sell in bulk but make it a point to oblige any customer
whether they buy in bulk or not. Business is not as good as it used
to be. There are so many competitors now."
Despite Sadeek's
displeasure, Raja Malwatte Traders, which is placed somewhat afar
from the rest of the flower shops, was full of fastidious customers.
And the employees packed and bundled flowers of various shapes and
sizes in haste.
"Pack 50 vases and roses for them soon," Sadeek told an
employee on a request being made by an elderly woman who was planning
to open a flower shop down Mawanella. For starters, she wanted only
roses, but the others wanted everything available from roses to
lilies and gold-coated leaves.
Imported
Most of these flowers used for bridal bouquets, headdresses and
simple floral decorations are imported from China, Hong Kong, India,
Singapore, Taiwan and Bangkok because Sri Lankan manufacturers cannot
match their quality.
While some girls do prepare little flowers for hair decorations,
they do not supply them on a continuous basis thereby making it
difficult for these sellers.
"Our labour charges are high compared to China and the cost
of production will be more if we start producing them here,"
said Sadeek who also pointed out that a kilo of plastic costs about
Rs. 100 in Sri Lanka while it costs almost nothing in other countries.
Hence, the demand for artificial flowers will have to be met by
imports.
.Plantation
firms encouraged to diversify crops
By Hiran Senewiratne
The government is trying to encourage plantations companies to diversify
and go for multi-cropping systems, says Minister of Plantation Industries
Lakshman Kiriella in an interview. While privatisation has yielded
many benefits in the plantations sector, better use of land and
the introduction of new technology are required in order to make
the industry more productive and profitable. Excerpts:
What are
the main problems encountered by the plantation industry?
The basic problem was that all 24 Regional Plantation Companies
(RPCs) were sticking to a mono-crop system of cultivation. The under-utilisation
of land resulted in reduced profitability. Therefore, our government's
policy is to encourage the RPCs to diversify and use a multi-crop
cultivation system to increase productivity and profitability.
Has the
privatisation process made a positive impact in the plantation sector?
Yes. When the plantation sector was under government control it
was very inefficient and unproductive. But after privatisation we
saw there was an improvement.
The plantation sector has played a pivotal role in the national
economy since independence but in recent years governments have
not paid enough attention to this sector.
No government
has looked down upon the plantation sector but after privatisation
standards did improve. However, this sector has not yet reached
satisfactory standards because of the under-utilisation of land
and lack of new technology. I think the only way to improve this
sector is to go for diversification and introduce new technology.
During the
previous government, many irregularities were alleged to have taken
place. What is the progress of your investigations into these alleged
irregularities?
The former government spent thousands of millions of rupees
in a haphazard way. Several factories they had set up are not functioning.
We are seeking foreign collaborations to run these factories.
What is
the outcome of the probe into the alleged fraud at the Tea Smallholders'
Development Authority?
There were massive frauds that have occurred with regard to
the Tea Shakthi Fund. Apart from that, Rs. 19 million worth of tea
was sent to Russia without the opening of Letters of Credit. The
industry suffered heavily due to this. We're now in the process
of recovering that money.
What is
the outcome of the probe into the alleged fraud at the State Rubber
Manufacturing Corporation? The Treasury gave more than a billion
rupees to the SRMC. What has happened to this money? What action
is going to be taken against those responsible for these frauds?
At the moment we are auditing all those accounts to find out
what went wrong. A soon as I get reports from the SRMC as well as
the Tea Shakthi Fund I will send them to the Criminal Investigations
Department.
The government does not have a proper system to control the import
of tea for blending with local tea for re-export. Some sections
of the industry believe this can be detrimental to the whole tea
industry. How are you going to tackle this problem?
At present we import a very small quantity of tea but if we
import more it will be detrimental to the whole industry. We will
take every possible step to protect the Ceylon tea industry.
There is a belief that the proposal to hold the tea auction in
dollars could hurt small players. How do you intend to give them
adequate protection?
We have to get the approval of the Central Bank to implement
this proposal. As there is an economic crisis in the country, this
will not come into effect immediately.
How do you intend curbing the problem of adulterated teas being
sold in the local market?
The sale of refuse tea from estates is prohibited but there
can be leaks from factories. We're trying to prevent it.
How do you intend tackling the problem of fragmentation of coconut
lands in the Coconut Triangle?
We can't stop the fragmentation of coconut lands in these coconut-growing
areas. The important thing is to grow coconut in non-traditional
areas such as in the Mahaweli river zone and in the north and east.
The coconut industry was the second highest income earner among
the plantation crop exports, but in the last couple of years its
earnings have dropped drastically. How do intend reviving the coconut
industry?
This was because we lost 700,000 coconut trees due to the severe
drought and also the removal of subsidies. We have re-established
these subsidies and will give incentives to encourage re-planting
and for new plantings.
What does the ministry intend doing to increase coconut production
in non-traditional areas like the Mahawali zone where productivity
is higher than in other areas?
To cultivate coconut in Mahaweli areas we need drip irrigation
techniques. We are seeking foreign assistance to popularise this
cultivation method in high yield areas.
Coconut prices have fluctuated widely in recent times. While
coconut growers expect a remunerative price for their crop, consumers
expect a reasonable price for their nuts. How do you intend maintaining
a healthy balance between these two conflicting expectations?
The Food Security Committee is a playing an important role in
maintaining a healthy balance between the interests of the growers
and those of consumers. When coconut prices go up, we import coconut
oil to control the situation.
How do you intend tackling the quarantine issues at the ports
of entry in case coconuts have to be imported from India or Malaysia
in order to prevent foreign diseases from coming into the country?
If we have a coconut shortage, we need not import coconuts.
Instead, we will encourage imports of coconut oil. That would ensure
that there would be enough fresh coconuts for local consumption.
Production of desiccated coconut (DC) has collapsed due to the
high cost of production compared with DC production in other countries.
This has led to the closure of DC mills jeopardising the jobs of
thousands of people. How do you intend addressing this issue?
Due to the drop in the coconut crop last year and this year,
most of the DC mills stopped production. The government has given
its fullest support to the DC industry. Most of the DC mills are
now back in production.
Most rubber small-holders gave up tapping because of the low
prices fetched in the market. What is the ministry doing to help
smallholders?
The rubber smallholders' associations are neither organised
nor united. This is part of the problem. The Ministry intends to
organise these smallholders and form rubber societies, bringing
them together in a common platform in order to discuss problems
pertaining to the industry.
Rubber industry officials say that many management companies do
not receive the planting subsidy. This has forced them to stop planting
of rubber in their estates owing to the low prices for Latex Crepe
and RSS. However, smallholders do enjoy this subsidy.
The big management companies can look after themselves. Those companies
are privatised. It is their responsibility to look after their business.
But we will support them if there is a severe crisis.
There is a big controversy about the conversion of rubber lands
into oil palm. What is the government's policy on this issue?
We are not encouraging the uprooting of all rubber trees and
the planting of oil palm but we do support the growing of oil palm
in neglected rubber lands and also removing very old rubber trees
and replanting those lands with oil palm. It would not be prudent
to uproot yielding rubber trees and replant those lands with oil
palm. Since oil palm cultivation is still in an experimental stage
we cannot jump to the conclusion that oil palm is better than rubber.
We are not going to allow oil palm to replace rubber. I am confident
that the rubber industry would bounce back and that it has a bright
future despite the prevailing poor prices for natural rubber.
Every crop has a product life cycle and this is what rubber is going
through right now. The prolonged slump in prices does not mean the
industry is dead. We're giving every possible support to the rubber
sector and plan to bring 10,000 acres of untapped rubber land back
into production in an effort to revive the industry.
The Ministry of Plantation Industries is in the process of preparing
a three-year action plan to develop the whole sector in order to
turn rubber into a lucrative industry.
Value addition has been proposed as a way of reviving the rubber
industry. How would you see this issue?
Value addition is the only way to revive the whole industry.
The ministry is encouraging more private sector companies to go
for value addition using local raw rubber. We are also hoping to
introduce new technology through the co-operative societies.
Millennium on recovery curve
By Akhry Ameer
Millennium Information Technologies (MIT) is back on the road to
recovery after experiencing a turbulent year and is looking at exciting
times ahead with its showpiece campus coming up at Malabe. The Sunday
Times Business spoke to MIT's Chief Executive Officer Tony Weerasinghe
on the company and its new developments. Excerpts:
As an IT
company competing in the global market, how has last year affected
MIT?
MIT expanded last year and we opened our Singapore and US offices.
Prospective clients put up their shutters with the events of September
11. The growth plan, had to be changed as a result of this. Every
investment was in anticipation of this growth pattern. However,
we ended up on a positive note.
I would say the biggest blow was Enron. Enron brought a new dimension
to accounting. We basically went to conservative accounting recognizing
cash only when it comes in. So it was not an excellent year but
we weathered the storm. There is a misconception locally about MIT.
I was under pressure from the Board to halt the campus plans. The
Board held back funds not because we didn't have the funds and so
this created the misconception. However, this is not what we planned
and we have to move on.
Also, during the year some of the clients couldn't pay up because
they had run into problems. So we had no option but to close the
contracts. This type of thing is not heard of in this part of the
world. I think it is also because we don't believe in ourselves.
MIT signed a multi-million dollar deal in October 2000 to build
the world's Electronic Communications Network (ECN) to connect stock
exchanges of many countries. What is the progress of this project?
The ECN was one of the projects we wound up. The client was
having problems as they were not getting licences in Asia and the
capital markets collapsed last year. So at one point we decided
it is enough and we mutually agreed to terminate. We basically did
the whole project. We were unable to recover everything we put in,
in terms of the professional cost.
What projects are you currently working on?
We are working with Exchange Labs on the Negotiated Trading project.
This was slightly delayed as their offices were close to the New
York World Trade Center and they had to relocate.
The MIT campus at Malabe - was it decided at the right time?
I would say it was a very wise decision to go ahead with the
project. It showed what we are, daring to go where no one has gone.
If we had done it later "the building of the future" would
have got affected. Cash-wise we did not have any problems. I should
mention that we had a plan and a goal. Because of events that happened
we didn't want to stifle growth and look for something else. This
is something that we believe in and I am confident we'll come out
okay.
Last year MIT managed to end on a low but positive note. What
is your outlook for 2002?
This year we are going to grow by at least 50 - 60 percent.
We went ahead with our investments and I think we managed to break
the sound barrier - a company in a Third World country winning a
large deal by itself in the US.
How would you justify your decision to move into the US instead
of concentrating on the neighbouring countries like Singapore and
Hong Kong?
MIT had a vision and goal to become No. 1 in the industry we
operate in ... I presume. To conquer we have to go where the best
is and see if we can beat them. The goal was to be by ourselves
and not to be part of another giant. We are unique as we are a product
company. This paid off unlike IT companies of India which were selling
their intellectual ability.
MIT is focussed on software for stock exchanges, besides a telecom
billing solution. Is it not like putting all your eggs in one basket?
Basically we have built a vast range of products for capital
markets. We now have solutions for exchanges, brokerages, clearing
and settlement houses and surveillance units and we are selling
all these products. I think there is a huge scope here. Winning
deals in the US is a justification of this. We will also be expanding
into new versions of telecom billing products. We are not pushing
this too much, as capacity is a little bit of an issue. In fact
the biggest debate for Millennium now is whether we can handle it
all.
What is your competition and where is it coming from?
Competition, especially in the capital markets, is global and comes
from companies like OM Technologies of Sweden, IBM, Hewlett Packard
and ComputerShare. In telecom billing we still haven't gone into
the Sema territory (Sema is a global financial and telecom software
giant), but we will face them very soon.
During the last two years some of your senior management had
left the company. How do you account for the loss?
I don't take it as a loss. It is definitely a loss in the short
term. But that was a culture we set up. I encouraged it. MIT has
grown tremendously and with it there is a need for other professional
skills to manage more employees and bigger clients. So this has
given me an opportunity to restructure.
Locally some see MIT as moving into integration. What are your
comments?
Integration is a specific business we run. It has always been
there. With the growth it has grown to be significantly known and
recognised.
What new projects are you working on?
We have three large clients in the US. I cannot give their names
as I have signed non-disclosure agreements with them. We expect
to make an official announcement in the coming months. We've finished
some prototyping and negotiations are on. The projects are in the
contract stage. The first one would be completed by the end of this
year. Put together, their value is double the size of the ECN project
($34 million). To give you an idea, these clients trade something
like ten times the amount of Sri Lanka's GDP in a day. In other
words we have got into the big league.
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