Sri Lanka should diversify exports while promoting non-traditional products as it enables them to explore new avenues of earning foreign currencies, said Board of Investment (BOI) Director General Renuka M. Weerakone. “That’s why, the BOI has always encouraged and promoted individuals and firms like HDDES that diversify export products in addition to established sectors such as apparel, rubber and other manufacturing based products. “BOI based companies also contributes 65% to national exports,” she said during a visit to the HDDES Group, a BOI approved firm, that grows, manufactures, and exports organic spices, essential oils, oleoresins, tea extracts, herbs, medicinal plant extracts, dehydrates, virgin coconut oil, and coconut products. She also said that HDDES Group is a perfect example, which illustrates the BOI’s export diversification. HDDES Group Chairman H. D. De Silva said, “My view is to utilize as much as possible trade agreements to import, process and re-export agricultural products while ensuring much needed foreign income earnings to the country at this crucial stage. Thus, I request all relevant authorities to positively absorb this proposition and implement straight forward decisions to eliminate all barriers and bottlenecks for all export industries. I believe this will pave the way to generate foreign income to the Island,” he pointed out.
HDDES located at the BOI Zone in Horana has captured a wide- ranging market portfolio in Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Africa, North, Central, South America, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Basically, its priorities are to produce organic but both products are available in the market, organic as well as conventional products. HDDES farms are 100 % organic certified under the new concept. HDDES Group, which has been in existence since 1982 is dedicated to the development of natural products by manufacturing organic and conventional essential oils under the brand name of HDDES. H D De Silva founded the company, which he oversees as its Chairman. In 2003, the Group diversified its portfolio and invested in the latest technology to introduce floral and herbal extracts to the export market under HDDES Extracts. The Group has also been recognised at the Presidential Export Awards.