• Submitted by: admin
• Business and Economy
• 06 / 01 / 2007

On Thursday, the minister and his delegation will visit plantations, Malay ovens and coconut oil factories in the municipality of Baracoa -- the main producer of coconuts in Cuba. Also scheduled are talks with local producers and managers in that sector.

Dissanayake, who is accompanied by Sri Lanka's ambassador to Cuba, Kirthi Sigera, was given detailed information on the coconut industry in Cuba upon his arrival in Guantanamo.

A senior official of the Cuban Ministry of Sciences, Technology and the Environment

(CITMA), Jose Antonio Rodriguez Oruna, briefed the visitors on environmental projects underway in Baracoa and their impact in the development of the coconut industry.

Rodriguez also talked about the age and yields of the plantations, the geographic and weather features of the area, soils and scientific studies being carried out in this sector.

During the meeting, Dissanayake expressed his country's willingness to cooperate with Cuba in the development of the coconut industry through exchanges of technology and experiences.

The coconut industry is Sri Lanka's main line of business, employing 500,000 people and exporting $520 million dollars worth of the commodity annually. Eighty percent of harvests are consumed domestically.

Source: Radio Cadena Agramonte