IMPRESSIONS from a Cross-section

Sri Lankan tourism is picking up now and at the same time the Sri Lankans want to wear local products. Hence the market for batiks is picking up and the Sri Lankan market is flourishing.

It’s a huge market. Mostly the batik manufacturers are Sri Lanka, Malaysia, some parts of India and Indonesia. But, when it comes to Europe and America it’s a high end fashion.

The batik sector is labor intensive and very expensive. The Sri Lankan batik sector market size is USD 300,000. There is a demand for Sri Lankan batiks normally in China, Dubai, Japan, Korea, South Africa and certain Middle East countries. The batik garments are in fashion in these countries because of the bright colors used and they find it to be comfortable fashion.

The production cost is increasing because wax, which is the main raw material, is a byproduct of petroleum whose prices are increasing. Besides, the fabrics and other raw materials used have to come from India, Pakistan or China which adds to the cost. So, if we could supply the raw materials within the country it would be much better and also reduce our production costs.

Batik sector in Sri Lanka is our traditional industry which depicts our culture and our development over the years. So it becomes our duty as Sri Lankans to protect the industry.

*******