The Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA) one of the most senior automotive association in South Asia, recently concluded another Stakeholder Breakfast Forum, which was held at the Hilton Colombo Residencies.
The event was graced by the Ambassador for Japan in Sri Lanka Mizukoshi Hideaki as the guest speaker while several senior officials from Ministries, Government Institutions and other stakeholder organizations of the Motor Industry also participated.
Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association Chairman Charaka Perera, addressed the gathering highlighting the need to regulate the motor industry to protect consumers, environment and the economy.
Citing many non-essential imports done in the last few years, he suggested that the government should consider a quota system for all such industries and offer a quota for the automobile industry as well, which would also enable to reduce the exorbitantly high used vehicles prices.
Perera said: “With all due respect these industries, I wish to highlight the import expenditure for the two calendar years of 2020 and 2021 of some of them. It was $421 million to import finished clothing and accessories, $739 million for Home Appliances & furniture, $310 million for seafood $122 million for cosmetics & toiletries and the list goes on.
The total forex outflow for these four categories alone was $1,592 million for two years. Therefore, we believe that there should have been a quota system for most of these industries which could have allowed all of them to survive including ours. Considering the numbers I stated, the auto industry could have easily been allocated at least $400 million, which would have been sufficient for the industry to manage our businesses without bleeding, save over 15,000 lost jobs and provide much needed government revenue”
Ambassador Mizukoshi Hidek, in his address spoke of the important need of economic and fiscal reforms conditioned by the IMF, as they would help restore the local economy sustainably. He further elaborated on Japan’s wide-ranging assistance to Sri Lanka and his perspectives on the promotion of Japanese investment in Sri Lanka, and the challenges faced by Japanese companies in doing so.
The Ambassador took part in a Q&A Session which was moderated by Yasendra Amerasinghe, the Immediate Past Chairman of the CMTA andanswered several questions from the moderator and the audience on varied topics.