Sri Lanka will reach self-sufficiency in the tile and bath ware industry next year. At present the industry is around 80% import based.
The main reason for this quick turnaround is the Government’s import ban which encouraged the large companies and the SMEs in the sector to make more investments in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Ceramic and Glass Council (SLCGC) member and Managing Director, Lanka Minerals and Chemicals (Pvt) Ltd, Aravinda Perera, said in the past two years alone local manufactures including their company invested nearly Rs. 20 billion to set up new bath wear and tile manufacturing facilities and adding capacity to plants.
“Today, there are over eight small, medium, and large-scale producers in the industry, who supply at multiple price points and varying levels of quality,” he said.
Sri Lanka imported ceramic products to the value of US$ 49.8 million in 2020, becoming the 109th largest importer of ceramic products in the world. Last year this was reduced to US$ 29.78 million and has come down to around USS 12 million this year so far.
In early 2020, Sri Lanka did not have the capacity to fulfil the demand of bath ware in the country.
Due to government requests to increase manufacturer capacities, a number of factories were set up with investments of up to nearly Rs. 20 billion. This significantly increased capacity helped the industry reach its desired target within a span of two years. The import restrictions also had a great positive impact on the industry as well.
“While investments are taking place to increase production Sri Lankan manufacturers have also increased exports bringing in the much needed forex to Sri Lanka.”
“We are also pleased to note that 80% of the raw materials needed for the industry is locally sourced and an extremely high value addition is applied to these local raw materials,” said Minister of Industries, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, the chief guest at the SLCGC organised discussion at Colombo Hilton.
The Minister said that more local value addition is currently taking place and the government too will support this endeavour.
Director and General Manager, Royal Ceramics Lanka, Nandajith Somaratne said that the high energy cost is the only gray area for the industry.
The top local manufacturers include, Royal Ceramics, RSL Ceramics, Mulatiayana Ceramics, Nilwala Ceramics Village, Otto Bath ware, Hega Tile, Embilipitya Ceramics, Novel Ceramics, and Dilax Chemical.