Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a joint initiative to set up a centralised zero-waste biomass cinnamon processing centre at the University of Ruhuna, in a bid to modernise one of the country’s signature spice exports.
According to EconomyNext, the facility will be established on the Mapalana Agricultural College premises, which belong to the university’s Faculty of Agriculture. It will be run as a collaborative state venture between the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) and the University of Ruhuna.
Cabinet Spokesman Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa told the weekly post-cabinet media briefing that the project targets long-standing constraints in the sector. The cabinet noted that Sri Lanka’s cinnamon industry is dominated by small-scale growers in the Matara and Galle districts, who face persistent challenges including high processing costs, difficulty meeting hygiene standards and minimal use of biomass waste.
The centre is designed to minimise waste while maximising the commercial value of cinnamon by-products. The project is to be carried out in four phases over a total period of 27 months, with the aim of lifting producers toward global compliance standards and lowering operating costs for regional growers, EconomyNext reported.
