[28 Nov] Sri Lanka Government to Push for New Cultivation of Rubber and Coconuts

The Sri Lankan government wants to encourage rubber and coconut cultivation outside traditional areas of production, Plantations Industries Minister D M Jayaratne said. He said there was high demand for land to grow coconuts in the east, after the end of the ethnic war made cultivation there commercially viable.

The eastern province and Anuradhapura, in the north-central province, are also being considered for rubber cultivation because they are in the dry zone and rainfall is limited, he told a news conference.

Jayaratne said rubber prices had now recovered and become remunerative for cultivators.

(Source: http://irco.biz)