Illegal confectionery floods SL market: Leading confectioner warns

A rise in illegal confectionery products entering Sri Lanka’s local market is posing significant challenges for the legitimate businesses and creating health risks for the consumers, a top industry representative warns.

According to CBL Foods International, the market is gradually getting “flooded” by illegal confectionery products as there is widespread sale of such in all parts of the country.

 

“Most of these products are expired and do not even carry the basic nutrient content. 

 

This is turning out to be a major challenge for companies like us engaged in legal and ethically bound businesses, adhering to government standards, regulations and paying the taxes and also poses health risks to the consumers,” CBL Foods International CEO and Director Kamal Geeganage told Mirror Business.

 

While these illegal confectioneries mainly enter the country through baggage, the scale of the issue indicates other illegal channels are also being used.

 

"We have repeatedly requested the government authorities to enforce the law and take regular action to crack down on food items that are channelled into the country illegally. We have to keep on pushing them if any action has to be taken,” he said.

 

“We respect the people coming to Sri Lanka to do business. But that should be done in a legal way."

 

Separately, commenting on the latest labelling and advertising regulations introduced by Sri Lanka's Health Ministry and the Consumer Affairs Authority, Geeganage reflected the sentiments of other manufacturers and said there should have been more discussion at the early stage, where the industry weak points were discussed and concerns understood, in order to find a middle path.

 

“This requirement has been in discussion between the Health Ministry and related parties for the past two to three years. Finally, it reached a point where a new set of rules was decided for labelling and advertising packaged food in the country. We presented our suggestions too on what needs to be changed. Our voice was heard in some areas in terms of protecting the overall industry and protecting the consumers,” he said.

 

Geeganage noted that while the government offered certain concessions regarding the packaging changes, the businesses would have benefited from a longer transition period to fully use the existing packaging stocks and avoid financial losses.

 

"In the situation the country is in today, most businesses are unable to write-off such costs as a loss.

 

It would have been much better if the companies were allowed to get into the new regulations once such materials are fully exhausted."