A delegation from the Spice Council of Sri Lanka has generated more than US $3 million in exports sales in the course of recent visit to New York as part of an initiative to expand the market for "Ceylon Spices" to the United States. The initiative was supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through its competitiveness programme. "The spice exporters had been selected open advertising , 12 applications were received and 8 companies were selected, representatives of 6 exporters made the week long trade tour to New York and Los-Angeles.," Chairman Spice Council Sarada De Silva said at a press conference held in Colombo yesterday. He added that more initiatives will follow in the near future saying "Our problem is insufficient production."

The Spice Council called this a market expansion programme and introduced this as a part of the Council’s vision to elevate international awareness of Sri Lankan spices and to establish Ceylon spices as a recognized brand in the world market. The Council has worked closely with the TCP to increase the international competitiveness of the spice industry for the past five years.

The Chairman of TSC,`A0Sarada De Silva said: "The United States is the biggest market for spices and establishing strong links with US buyers will greatly help the Sri Lankan spice industry to expand its spice exports. This marketing mission has helped the Sri Lankan spice exporters to increase their credibility to enter value added`A0 premium segments of the market." Chairman of TSC, Sarada De Silva said.