Will empower the local farmers; plans to minimize imports : Ramesh Pathirana

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Minister of Plantations and Export Agriculture Dr Ramesh Pathirana expressed the following views on export crops. He said that the export price of Cinnamon and Pepper were at a high, however, the domestic plantations took a blow due to the import of products with foreign origin. He added that they will take measures to minimize the import of products that could be produced in Sri Lanka and gradually stop the import in the future. He added that they would implement measures to benefit the local farmer, as an instance he said that earlier 50% was charged for Cinnamon plants and they would make arrangements in the future to provide the seedlings for free.