Abstract:
Sri Lanka is the largest supplier of quality cinnamon to the world spice market
Though cinnamon plays a key role in the spice sector, the performance of the
overall sector in Sri Lanka has not been up to the expectations over the past
years. Sri Lanka ranks well below other countries in value-added cinnamon
exports to the world market Other competitor countries make huge profits by
adding value to cinnamon exported from Sri Lanka, while Sri Lanka is losing
profit due to exporting mostly raw cinnamon. In this context, this research
project is designed to explore the possibilities to generate more value addition
through cinnamon exports based on a case study in southern Sri Lanka. The
research methodology consists of situational analysis, focus group interviews,
and an in-depth questionnaire survey. The survey was carried out to gather data
from 130 sample respondents mainly covering the various actors and agents in
the whole cinnamon supply chain in southern Sri Lanka. The findings of this
study show that the main obstacles to generate more value addition in cinnamon
exports are lack of proper policies, incentives and strategies in the areas of
marketing, finance, quality, technology management and product innovation.
The methodology used and the policies recommended can apply to other
cinnamon exporting countries as well. The social and managerial implications of
the findings and policies of this study may be important to many apex bodies and
other players in the cinnamon supply chain.
