Sri Lanka is considering linking its considerable small and medium enterprises (SME) base to global markets through the highly active food processing industry sub-sector.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has launched many projects for these sectors. The most important is the setting up of Sri Lanka’s first Accredited Food Laboratory for SMEs by the Industrial Development Board.
This is the first such facility for the SME food sector of Sri Lanka and it is also the first lab that is ready to test food products from all Districts of Sri Lanka and using both local and international standards such as SLS and ISO.
In 2017 and 2018, the Ministry has invested Rs 240 million towards food and packaging development projects. Sri Lanka’s food processing industry employs 1.5 million workforce directly and indirectly and reports around Rs 100 million in its annual domestic production.