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Kerala seeks protection for rubber, tea, spices from Lanka

Kerala Chief Minister E K Nayanar asserted in the state assembly in Thiruvananthapuram today that the Indo-Sri Lanka free trade agreement would adversely affect the export potential of the state's predominant cash crops like rubber, tea and spices.

Replying to a submission on the subject made by P C George (Kerala Congress-Joseph), Nayanar welcomed the announcement of Prime Minister A B Vajpayee made during his January 17 visit here that coconut and coconut oil would be among the agricultural commodities to be kept in the negative list of imports.

He said his government would also exert pressure on the Centre to keep rubber, tea and spices also in the negative list of imports as otherwise it would adversely affect the economy of the state. Cash crops accounted for 70 per cent of the cropped area in kerala.

Nayanar said the agreement would affect the state most because the agricultural produce of Kerala and Sri Lanka were almost the same. As in Kerala, rubber, coconut and pepper were produced in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was in the forefront of export of coconut and coconut-related products.

UNI

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