Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama told the launch of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation Project, held in Colombo on Wednesday. The event was organized by the global Alliance for Trade Facilitation together with Women in Logistics and Transport, Sri Lanka and Verite Research at the Hilton Colombo Residences.
“This is a groundbreaking project for our country, and fits in well with the broader initiatives we are working on to position Sri Lanka strongly as a competitive trade hub in the Indian Ocean. I believe we are only the second country in Asia, after Vietnam, to be selected for a project by the GATF. This is a testament to the confidence placed in the Government’s reform agenda to shape Sri Lanka into a more trade and investment driven economy, from the previous public debt fueled growth model,” he said.
The Minister said he has keenly followed the progress of the project and urged the partnering agencies to move forward soon with implementation, as this is an important and timely initiative for Sri Lanka.
Multi Country Consolidation refers to the logistics activity where less-than-container load (LCL) cargos from different origins are combined into a full container load (FCL) and shipped to their destinations. It optimises cargo flows and reduces international transport costs for firms. It is especially useful for SMEs that ship small volumes and for large companies that source small volumes of goods from multiple countries or suppliers.
“ In line with the fourth industrial revolution and the growth of e-commerce and B 2 C trade driven by digital, MCC will be a great boost to Colombo’s attractiveness as a hub for ‘3rd Party Logistics’ or “3PL”. For a country like Sri Lanka -fast becoming an upper middle-income country, and fast losing its low-cost advantages, we need to focus on new sources of competitive advantage - like technology and business efficiency. Time and cost of taking goods into and out of the country, is a key factor in this,” Minister said.
He also said that the MCC project will build on the growing competitiveness of the Colombo Port.He said further that Alphaliner just ranked Colombo as the fastest growing port in 2018. Colombo is also the only deep-water container port in South Asia that can accommodate large vessels of 18,000 TEUs or more. And in terms of productivity, Colombo’s terminals outperform others in the region at 35 moves per hour per crane.
“But we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. Other hubs in the region are forging ahead with reforms and new projects. For years now we have heard the familiar sentiment that Sri Lanka is primed to be a maritime hub in the region. But we simply haven’t done enough in the past decade or so to actually make this happen. We had postponed much needed reforms. There is a lot of talk about the potential, it is not enough on the actual things that we need to do realise this potential,” minister Samarawickrama said.
He also said Sri Lanka has also announced a commitment to liberalize foreign investment in the maritime services sector.And also, Sri Lanka recently introduced a National Export Strategy to help domestic firms to diversify our product base, with a focus on emerging sectors like IT, the Boating industry, and Electrical and Electronic components.
According to the Minister, the MCC project will complement the National Export Strategy well, as Logistics is identified as one of four important ‘Trade Support Functions’ for exporters.“We are also engaging with the World Economic Forum on how to latch on to the opportunities presented by the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” that is totally changing production systems and supply chains. As the Forum’s founder Klaus Schwab says, “it will no longer be the large fish that eats the small fish, but it will be the fast fish that eats the slow fish,” he said.
“We might be a relatively small fish, but if we can be fast we can survive and thrive. In this too, MCC will play a key role, as Sri Lanka engages more in the world of e-commerce and digitally-driven supply chains,” minister noted.
