NCE exporters call for urgent reforms
View(s):The National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE) has submitted a comprehensive package of proposals for the upcoming National Budget, calling for bold reforms to strengthen the export sector, attract investment, and enhance Sri Lanka’s global competitiveness.
The recommendations are the outcome of extensive consultations with NCE members and the chamber’s sectoral heads, ensuring they reflect the genuine challenges and aspirations of exporters across industries. While specific reforms have been suggested for high-potential sectors such as minerals, floriculture, and horticulture, the chamber stressed that the majority of proposals are cross-cutting measures that apply broadly across all export industries, it said in a media release.
Key Challenges and Proposals
1. Trade Facilitation
Exporters face delays and high costs due to inefficient procedures and outdated systems. The NCE has called for a modern cargo scanner at the Katunayake Export Processing Centre and a single-window digital system for exporter registration and renewals.
2. Branding and Market Access
Sri Lankan exporters often lose value by supplying under foreign labels. To build stronger brand equity, the NCE proposes state-backed liability insurance and tax concessions for brand-building; fast-tracked trademark registration and Sri Lanka’s accession to the Madrid Protocol; and relaunch of the EDB Brand Development Programme and global campaigns showcasing Sri Lankan quality.
3. Standards, Certifications, and Testing
The high cost of compliance and lack of accredited facilities hinder exporters, especially SMEs. The NCE recommends accreditation of selected university laboratories to ISO 17025 standards and EDB reimbursement of 50 per cent of certification costs and low-interest loan schemes.
4. Value Addition and Innovation
Sri Lanka’s exporters need more incentives to move up the value chain. Proposals include tax-free export profits for products with more than 60 per cent local value addition; triple tax deductions for R&D, product innovation, and sustainability practices and a government-backed R&D fund to co-finance industry–academia partnerships.
5. Financing and Investment Incentives
SMEs continue to struggle with limited access to affordable finance. To address this the NCE urges the creation of a Sri Lankan Export-Import (EXIM) Bank and double tax deductions for investments in technology, capacity, and sustainability.
A recurring theme across every sector is the severe shortage of both skilled and unskilled labour, which has become one of the most pressing challenges for exporters such as export industries face growing difficulties in recruiting machine operators, technicians, and trained staff; high turnover and the migration of skilled workers exacerbate the problem and female participation in the workforce remains constrained by a lack of affordable housing and childcare facilities. To address this, the NCE has proposed establishing government-run export skill training centres, factory-based training programs with allowances to encourage participation, low-interest housing loans and childcare support for export sector workers and incentives for companies to train and retain their workforce.
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