President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said future incentives will be introduced to promote export diversification and the development of value-added products.
He emphasized that the government’s role is to support industries, not hinder them, and highlighted the need to consult relevant sectors during regulation drafting.
The remarks were made on Friday (29th August) at the Presidential Secretariat during the 2026 pre-budget discussion with private sector representatives from the agriculture and food & beverage sectors.
Discussions focused on facilities for farmers, exports, tax concessions, recycling, legal frameworks, and ensuring a continuous supply of quality agricultural and food products.
The President noted that consumers often determine agricultural prices due to gaps in distribution and stressed the need for greater government-private sector cooperation.
He added that the government aims to secure private sector support to expand markets for agricultural, dairy, and livestock products and plans to introduce a framework to help entrepreneurs add value. The livestock sector’s productivity challenges and the need for structured small and medium-scale operations were also highlighted.
The meeting was attended by Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Russell Aponsu, Export Development Board Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe, ministry officials, and business leaders from the agriculture and food & beverage sector. (NewsWire)
