EDB to Decentralize Testing & Certification Facilities to Boost Export Competitiveness 📈

The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) has initiated a comprehensive, island-wide plan to expand and decentralize testing and certification infrastructure, targeting a major logistical bottleneck for regional exporters. • Core Initiative: Action plan to decentralize testing services currently concentrated in Colombo. The move aims to enhance quality compliance, speed up market access, and lower costs for exporters based in the North, East, and Southern provinces. • Implementation Strategy: The EDB outlined four primary mechanisms to achieve regional expansion: • Modernizing existing provincial government laboratories. • Maximizing the utility of underutilized testing facilities. • Launching public-private partnerships (PPPs) to expand capacity. • Digitizing and simplifying the compliance and certification pipeline. • Economic Context: EDB Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe highlighted that global market competitiveness relies heavily on compliance speed. The project directly supports national export diversification and eases operational friction for regional businesses, particularly in vital areas like agribusiness, tea, and processed food sectors that rely heavily on stringent bio-chemical testing. • Next Steps: The EDB will map regional exporter testing requirements against current laboratory capacities to present data-driven solutions to higher regulatory authorities. This initiative requires strict collaboration across state laboratory networks and regulatory bodies to streamline the national export agenda. _(Based on initial stakeholder data)_