Sri Lanka's travel advisory: Textile, agriculture traders will be hit

HENNAI: The Sri Lankan government's decision to issue an advisory to its citizens against travelling to Tamil Nadu may adversely impact trade between the two neighbours, resulting in a loss of opportunity for textile and commodity businesses here. In the near term, the impact may be felt by the smaller businesses.
"Numerous Lankans shop in T Nagar for their wedding purchases. I know each Lankan boarding the plane back to Colombo carries 40 sarees each. The margins are nearly 100% for these sarees. These guys may get impacted," trade sources said."Businesses of small traders and unorganized traders could be affected as they might not be able to ship directly to Chennai and would have to route it through Mumbai or such other locations," C S Muthu Subramaniyan, President of the India-ASEAN Sri LankaChamber of Commerce and Industry said. If the issue continues to simmer, and identity politics and Lankan war crimes remain the key issues for regional parties until the next Lok Sabha elections, the environment may become unfavourable for bigger businesses such as those involved in hospitality, tourism, commodities too.
"South Indians, particularly farmers and sugar companies from Tamil Nadu will be affected," said Somi Hazari, managing director of the Chennai-based Shosova group. Shosova is into export and import of edible oils and other food items.Other commodities like onions and lentils from other parts of India too are exported to Sri Lanka via Tamil Nadu because of proximity to Sri Lanka and price competitiveness. 

Original Article Here