The coir fiber industry in Sri Lanka: Reasons for its decline and possible turnaround strategies

H.S. Rohitha Rosairo, Tamotsu Kawamura and T.L.G. Sanjeewani Peiris
Additional contact information
H.S. Rohitha Rosairo: Department of Agribusiness Management, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka, Postal: Department of Agribusiness Management, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka
Tamotsu Kawamura: Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate 020 8550, Japan, Postal: Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate 020 8550, Japan
T.L.G. Sanjeewani Peiris: Development Finance Corporation of Ceylon, No. 2, Deva Veediya, Kandy, Sri Lanka, Postal: Development Finance Corporation of Ceylon, No. 2, Deva Veediya, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Agribusiness, 2004, vol. 20, issue 4, 495-516

Abstract: The decline of the coir fiber industry in Sri Lanka, which brings valuable foreign exchange, has been a subject of concern as Sri Lanka is a main supplier of coir fiber to the world market. The repercussions of this decline on the country are enormous. In this article we analyze this crisis situation to find the causative factors and to propose recommendations for the development and sustainability of the industry. The main factors contributing to the crisis are unfavorable trade policies, trade barriers, human resource problems, poor trade behavior, export barriers, poor product marketing strategy, the high cost of production, poor industry regulation, and threats from the global marketing environment. Recommendations for the development of the industry include policy changes, improved working conditions, trade strategies, product diversification, mechanization, quality assurance, market development, strengthening of market position, and regional cooperation. We present a comprehensive long-term strategy for the future development of the coir fiber industry of Sri Lanka. [EconLit citations: O530, Q130, Q170.] © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 20: 495-516, 2004.

Date: 2004
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/agr.20071 Link to full text; subscription required (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:agribz:v:20:y:2004:i:4:p:495-516

DOI: 10.1002/agr.20071

Access Statistics for this article

Agribusiness is currently edited by Ronald W. Cotterill

More articles in Agribusiness from John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().