Market Access Teams
The Travel and Tourism MAT was initiated as a part of the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka to discuss and present issues related to the tourism sector and to improve the regulatory environment for the sector.
The focus of establishing this strategic committee is to bring our members from the sector together on one platform to discuss the current developments, market trends and missed opportunities in the travel and tourism business and to identify the key areas and actions for the MAT committee to address its focus.
We intend to harness the talent and expertise of the representatives of our members in the tourism sector in an effort to drive the importance of destination promotion among the policy makers of Sri Lanka and with other stake holders.
Food and Agriculture Market Access Team was established in September 2020. The key purpose of this committee is to discuss and analyze the current market trends in the food and agriculture sector, identify the challenges & opportunities and to give support & guidance in addressing those.
Experts, together with other stakeholders, are invited to join and drive the expansion of the food and agriculture sector among the policymakers of Sri Lanka.
Activities and initiatives taken by the Food & Agriculture MAT since its inception include:
- September 2020: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with Sri Lanka Food Processors Association
- January 2021: Scope of the MAT was decided as focusing on organic agriculture & produce and to assess market demands for organic produce exports to Europe.
- February 2021: Initiated a discussion with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman to create a core group for organic agriculture and produce.
- March 2021: Assessment of potential collaboration and partnership with the Sri Lanka Agripreneurs’ Forum (SLAF).
- April 2021: Commencement of collaborative projects and events on Organic Agriculture with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Sri Lanka and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Sri Lanka.
- April 2021: A collaborative event with the Control Union Sri Lanka on European Union (EU) Regulations and Certifications for Fruits and Vegetables.
- April 2021: Development of a short questionnaire to assess the market demands in Europe. The survey was shared with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), the Delegation of the European Union and the embassies of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom (UK)
- May / June 2021: Based on the feedback of the survey, a strategy for the organic produce market of Sri Lanka shall be developed such as initiating a knowledge hub for farmers, intermediaries and exporters to educate on seasonal farming, what should be produced, labeling, branding, packaging and other certificates required for successful marketing.
Note: The main purpose of the survey was to focus on the development and export of organic produce based on market demands from Europe, as there seems to be a gap between what is produced in Sri Lanka compared to what the market in Europe requires. To close this gap and assist the producers of organic produce to match market demand and to liaise strategically with buyers in Europe, an assessment, of the current and future demands and requirements of European buyers needed to be conducted.
The Transport and Logistics MAT was established to discuss and present transport and logistics sector related issues and to improve the conditions of the sectors.
The scope of the Transport and Logistics MAT is to discuss current developments, market trends, missed opportunities in the Logistics sector and services ECCSL can provide to members.
The MAT aims to bring together experts under one platform and to harness the talent & expertise of the organizations taking part in an effort to drive the importance of inbound & outbound transportation, fleet management, warehousing, material handling, order fulfilment, inventory management & demand planning among the policy makers of Sri Lanka and with other stake holders.
The Power and Energy MAT Committee was initiated to voice the industry requirements in power and energy sector. The scope of the MAT is to identify bottlenecks in the industry and to resolve those with the assistance of various stakeholders in the Power and Energy sector and by producing position papers to the relevant authorities.
Furthermore, the target in establishing the Power and Energy MAT is to address industry issues, enhance member participation and increase the capacity of members by providing the necessary skills and knowledge of the industry.
The Financial Services Committee was established with due consideration to the prevailing economic situation in Sri Lanka and to facilitate a platform to discuss and present issues related to the financial sector and to provide the member organizations up-to-date information, news, advisory services and market insights.
The ECCSL plans to host a number of events, webinars & discussion forums for our member organizations to discuss and brainstorm ideas and views from financial aspect. We intend to harness the talent and expertise of the representatives of our members in the financial sector together with the support of national and international financial institutions in Sri Lanka in an effort to drive the importance of rebuilding the country’s economy and to provide the much-required assistance to our member organizations in this critical phase.
