Japanese Minister of Agriculture Norikasu Suzuki met with Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries Mahinda Amaraweera to relax the existing restrictions on the import of Japanese sticky rice given to tourists in star class hotels in Sri Lanka.
He made this request during a bilateral meeting with the Ministers of Agriculture and senior officials present to participate in the 37th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The discussion was held at the Colombo Hilton Hotel.
In this conference, the Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries requested to implement the technical exchange program used by Japan for starting cultivation and harvesting in Sri Lanka.
Furthermore, the minister who spoke about the minimum yield per hectare of paddy cultivation in this country said that the lack of proper use of new technology has been the reason for the decrease in yield.
He further discussed issues related to the existing obstacles for importing fruits such as mangoes and pineapples from Sri Lanka to Japan, increasing the dairy industry, and providing the farmers of Sri Lanka with new technical methods used by Japan for the development of livestock.
Kaweesha Vidanagamage