The NCE Export Awards 2019 organised by the National Chamber of Exports (NCE) for the 27th time is due to be held on September 20 in Colombo.
The awards while recognising the outstanding contribution by the local export community will encourage upcoming exporters to establish their ground by transforming the business to the next level. It is also will express our gratitude to their untiring efforts in contributing to the national economy in a big way, President, NCE, Ramya Weerakoon said.
“The role played by local exporters is invaluable. They are the key driving force in the country’s growth. The awards encompass varied aspects of the export trade and the novel category of differently-abled segment also have been included to show our concern. We promote and highlight the achievements of the export community which deserve a push towards limelight,” she said. This year, the Chamber has introduced an additional special award to highlight export oriented enterprises which engage the services of ‘disabled persons’ related to their skills in the field of exports.
This year’s award ceremony will be on the theme ‘Strengthening good governance for sustainability’ emphasising the importance of both good governance and sustainability. The event will confer special awards to encourage and motivate branding and value addition.
The Chamber will take steps to make sure that the winners are highlighted and given due publicity during and after the event. Sri Lankan exporters who go through a very challenging journey, and reaching high standards and winning awards at the NCE Awards event could be considered a great achievement, she said.
The NCE initiated this event in 1993 to fill a void which prevailed at the time, since the conduct of the Presidential Export Awards by the Export Development Board had been disrupted due to various reasons.
A significant feature of the awards are the changes that have been effected over the years related to its structure and content of its activities to reflect current trends in the field of international trade. There will be 28 main sectors of products and services related to exports as well as service providers to exporters, such as freight forwarders, couriers, banks, suppliers of raw materials, intermediate goods and packaging materials to exporters in these main sectors.
The main sectors comprehensively cover all products and services related to exports. A significant feature this year is the inclusion of three new sectors which are, tourism and related services, export of recycled products, and import substitution products based on the premise that a dollar saved through import substitution is good as a dollar earned through exports.
The application form related to the event is itself an evolving living document which incorporates refinements and improvements to accommodate modern trends international trade. The event is also open for service providers to exporters.
The selection of award winners is carried out by an independent professional panel of judges competent in the various aspects of exports. Another special feature of the event is the engagement by the Chamber of the services of Ernst & Young, to provide professional inputs to the panel of judges to ensure transparency and credibility.