Sri Lanka was unanimously elected as Vice-Chair to represent the Asia-Pacific Group on the Governing Council of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) for 2016. Ambassador of Sri Lanka and Alternate Governor of the Council, Adam M.J. Sadiq was proposed for the post by the Philippines and endorsed by acclamation by the Governing Council which concluded its 2 day meeting in the Hague today (9th December 2015). The Council also approved the appointment of the Second Secretary of the Mission, Ms. Wathsala Indunil Amarasinghe as Alternate Executive Director for the constituency comprising India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the CFC Executive Board for 2016-17.
Addressing the 27th Meeting of the Governing Council on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka yesterday, Ambassador Sadiq underscored the unique and important role played by the CFC in poverty alleviation in developing countries. He appreciated the support extended by the CFC to commodity dependent developing countries in their socio-economic development, through financing of commodity focused projects. In this regard, he stated “The technical and funding assistance extended by the CFC for improving the yield of crop varieties and minimizing losses through the development of disease-resistant varieties is a significant contribution that the CFC has been making towards the socio-economic development agenda of the developing world. Equally important is the role played by the CFC in the development and dissemination of small and medium scale agricultural processing technologies, which have been adapted to suit local conditions in developing countries”.
Speaking further, the Ambassador highlighted the need for governments to focus on food production to ensure food security for their citizens. “With more than a billion hungry people around the world, now facing increasingly unstable food prices due to the vagaries of market forces, the CFC can play a more effective and dynamic role in curbing speculative manipulation of prices of essential food items and commodities. As we all know, food is a basic necessity of life and the provision of food for human sustenance should be considered as a fundamental human right. Therefore, Governments across the world should accord the highest priority to food production that meets the basic requirements of their citizens, and to ensure food security, in times of natural and man - made calamities”, he said.
Referring to Sri Lanka’s engagement with the CFC, Ambassador Sadiq thanked the CFC for granting approval for the proposals submitted on behalf of two private sector companies Sri Lanka at the 60th Executive Board Meeting in Amsterdam in October this year. Asia Siyaka Commodities Plc. has been granted a credit line of USD 1.5 million, along with a grant assistance of USD 30,000/- to improve the tea supply chain in Sri Lanka. MA’s Tropical Food Processing Pvt. Ltd has received approval for a loan of USD 407,407/-, together with grant aid of USD 8140/- to develop its food processing capability.
The Agreement establishing the Common Fund for Commodities was adopted on 27 June 1980 at Geneva, by the United Nations Negotiating Conference on a Common Fund under the Integrated Programme for Commodities. The Agreement entered into force on 19 June 1989.
The CFC is headquartered in Amsterdam and currently has a membership of 103 Member States and ten institutional members including the European Union (EU), the African Union/African Economic Community (AU/AEC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and most recently, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Membership is open to all Members States of the United Nations, its specialised agencies, in addition to inter-governmental and regional economic integration organizations, which exercise competence within the purview of activities overseen by the Fund.
The CFC works closely with International Commodity Bodies (ICBs) to advance commodity sector development in member countries and policy advocacy in the international fora.
The full text of the Sri Lanka country Statement is attached below.
Embassy of Sri Lanka,
The Hague
11th December 2015
STATEMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA
27TH ANNUAL MEETING OF
THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE COMMON FUND OF COMMODITIES
THE HAGUE, 08 – 09 DECEMBER 2015
BY H.E.MR. ADAM M.J. SADIQ
ALTERNATE GOVERNOR OF THE COMMON FUND FOR COMMODITIES
FOR THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA
Madam Chairperson
Managing Director, of the CFC
Distinguished Governors, Alternate Governors, Advisors, Delegates
Ladies & Gentlemen,
It is indeed a great pleasure to address you at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Governing Council of the Common Fund for Commodities, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka.
At the outset, I would like to place on record, our sincere appreciation for the excellent work done by the Governing Council of the CFC during this year, under the dynamic stewardship of Ms Elizabeth-Sophie Mazzella di Bosco Balsa of Brazil. On a personal note, I take this opportunity to extend my warmest congratulations and best wishes to Ms Balsa on her appointment as Brazil’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka. I believe, all of us at this Governing Council Meeting, join me in wishing Ambassador Balsa a successful and rewarding tenure in her new assignment in Sri Lanka.
I also wish to commend Mr. Parvindar Singh, Managing Director for his consummate professionalism and dedication with which he has led the CFC Secretariat over the years. I join other delegations in extending our sincere felicitations to Mr. Singh on his unanimous election as Managing Director of the CFC at this Governing Council Meeting.
Madam Chair,
As members, we deeply appreciate the unique and important role played by the CFC in poverty alleviation in developing countries, by ensuring greater productivity and enhancing incomes, thereby increasing export earnings from commodities, which constitute the base of the economies of the majority of developing countries. We value the support extended by the CFC to commodity dependent developing countries in their socio-economic development through the financing of commodity-focused projects.
It is a well known fact that the vast majority of the least developed countries are heavily reliant on a few commodities for employment, national revenue and export earnings. It is usually the poorer segment of the population in developing countries, which is involved in commodities production. It has been estimated that out of the roughly two and a half billion people engaged in agriculture in developing
countries, about one billion derive a significant proportion of their income from the production of export commodities. According to UNCTAD statistics, about 80% of aggregate exports of LDCs comes from commodities. In this context, the importance of productivity improvement in order to increase export revenues cannot be over- emphasized.
Madam Chair,
The technical and funding assistance extended by the CFC for improving the yield of crop varieties and minimizing losses through the development of disease-resistant varieties is a significant contribution that the CFC has been making towards the socio-economic development agenda of the developing world. Equally important is the role played by the CFC in the development and dissemination of small and medium scale agricultural processing technologies, which have been adapted to suit local conditions in developing countries.
With more than a billion hungry people around the world, now facing increasingly unstable food prices due to the vagaries of market forces, the CFC can play a more effective and dynamic role in curbing speculative manipulation of prices of essential food items and commodities. As we all know, food is a basic necessity of life and the provision of food for human sustenance should be considered as a fundamental human right. Therefore, Governments across the world should accord the highest priority to food production that meets the basic requirements of their citizens, and to ensure food security, in times of natural and man made calamities.
It may be recalled that one of the primary objectives of the establishment of the CFC is to “ enhance the socio-economic development
of commodity producers and thereby contribute to the development of society as a whole”. As such, most developing countries need grant based funds to stimulate and encourage innovation and for R&D activities, so that, value added production can take place indigenously. Grant based funding is one of the routes to contributing to the commodity development of developing countries. This would be in line with the key objectives of setting up the CFC.
Madam Chair,
The international political and economic landscape has been changing quite rapdily, especially since the recent global financial crisis. Sri Lanka, as a middle-lower income country, has been particularly susceptible to the fluctuations in market prices of its export commodities, as the country’s export basket is concentrated on a narrow base of a few exportable items such as garments, tea, rubber, coconut, fisheries and fish products.
Regarding the amendments to the Agreement establishing the Common Fund for Commodities, as decided at the 26th Governing Council Meeting last year, I wish to inform this Meeting that the Department of Commerce in Sri Lanka is currently in the process of obtaining internal approval for the amendments. However, it is our considered view that it may not be feasible for many countries, including Sri Lanka to meet the designated deadline of January 2016. Therefore, Sri Lanka broadly supports the request for an extension for the entry into force of the amendments to the Agreement.
The Government of Sri Lanka has initiated a number of development programs aimed at community based sustainable production, providing greater market access. The Government also strongly supports private sector initiatives in enhancing food production, especially in promoting food product exports. In this context, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, I wish to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to the CFC for granting approval for the proposals submitted on behalf of two private sector companies Sri Lanka at the 60th Executive Board Meeting in Amsterdam in October this year. Asia Siyaka Commodities Plc. has been granted a credit line of USD 1.5 million, along with a grant assistance of USD 30,000/- to improve the tea supply chain in Sri Lanka. MA’s Tropical Food Processing Pvt. Ltd has received approval for a loan of USD 407,407/-, together with grant aid of USD 8140/- to develop its food processing capability. Through such financial and technical assistance, the CFC continues to play a vital role in supporting developing countries.
Madam Chair,
In conclusion, let me assure the Governing Council of Sri Lanka’s wholehearted and continued support for all the constructive endeavours of the CFC in the future.
I thank you for your kind attention.
