Annual Report 2008 - Ministry of Finance and Planning

6. A Sectoral Perspective
249
Table 6.12
Performance of the Sugar, Cashew and Palmyrah Plantations
Category Unit 2005 2006 2007 2008
Sugar
Total area under cane with ratoons ha 8,445 8,831 7,544 7,317
Area harvested ha 6,432 8,390 6,185 6,476
Cane harvested ‘000 mt 375 462 264 349
Private cane purchased ‘000 mt 281 204 119 161
Quantity of cane crushed ‘000 mt 660 660 382 509
Average yield mt/ha 58 56 48 56
Sugar production without sweepings ‘000 mt 54 56 29 38
Sugar recovery rate percentage 8.2 8.5 7.7 7.4
Cashew
Extent under cashew ha 37,167 38,846 39,751 41,950
Replanting / new planting ha 1,454 1,670 1,174.09 2,145.75
Production mt 9,036 9,721 11,635 5,000
Palmayrah
No. of Palms mn. no. 10.9. 11.01 11.07 11.3
Re planting/new planting ‘000 plants 180 195 210 230
Source: Ministry of Supplementary Plantation Crops
Palmyrah
Under the Restoration and the Development Programme of
palmyrah, about 100,000 plants have been planted in Jaffna,
Mannar and Vavuniya districts. Fifteen model farms in the
Northern Province have been rehabilitated to cater to the
needs of growers.
Minor Export Crops
The production of minor export crops shows a moderate
growth in 2008 with the increased production of cocoa,
cloves, arecanuts and coffee. The highest harvest of clove
was recorded in 2008. The production of cocoa and cloves
increased by 87 percent and 169 percent respectively. The
production of predominant export crops such as cinnamon,
pepper, cardamoms and cashew kernels declined during the
year. Cinnamon and pepper, the large export agricultural
commodities in the minor export commodity basket,
decelerated the growth by 3.5 percent and 21 percent
respectively in 2008. This slow down was due to the
declined world demand coupled with heavy rainfall observed
particularly in the pepper growing areas.
Table 6.13
Production of Minor Export Crops
(mt)
Category 2005 2006 2007 2008
Coffee 3,525 3,500 2,979 3,035
Cocoa 900 810 393 735
Cinnamon 14,450 15,900 16,505 15,924
Pepper 14,270 14,400 16,597 13,175
Cloves 6,080 3,575 2,990 8,053
Cardamoms 80 80 90 71
Nutmeg and Mace 1,860 1,925 5,553 4,702
Cashew Kernels 1,811 1,944 2,331 1,000
Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka
The prices of minor export agricultural commodities dropped
during the year. As a result, the government initiated an
assistance programme to revive the sector particularly for
the cinnamon exporters.
Ministry of Finance and Planning Sri Lanka
Annual Report 2008