A large number of crops produced by the cultivation projects initiated by the Agriculture Sector Modernization Project under the Ministry of Agriculture are exported. Among them are Green Cucumber, Sour banana, Mango, Pineapple, Papaya, Moringa leaves, jumbo peanuts etc.
The Minister of Agriculture Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera requested a report on the foreign exchange earned by these projects in 2022 and according to the report; the Agriculture Sector Modernization Project earned 36 million dollars through crop export last year.
Among these export crops, the most popular ones are Sour Bananas in Rajanganaya and Jaffna and Green Cucumber grown in Wakare, Batticaloa.
The entire crop of green cucumbers is exported to Japan, and the most used green cucumbers for burgers in Japan are grown in Wakare, according to the Agriculture Sector Modernization Project.
Apart from Dubai, there is a huge demand for sour bananas from many other countries, but according to the international standard, sour bananas are cultivated only in Rajangana and Jaffna sour banana cultivation zones. Therefore, the production of our country is still not enough for the needs of other countries.
Therefore, it is planned to start two cultivation areas and a banana processing center of 400 acres of sour bananas and Cavendish bananas in Ambilipitiya and Sewanagala areas at a cost of 150 million rupees.
The Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera instructed the Agricultural Sector Modernization Project to plan to grow all the products of these banana growing areas according to the proper standards so that they can be exported. The Agriculture Sector Modernization Project provides the necessary financial and technical facilities and technical training to the farmers.
