The lower reaches of the Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Badulla Districts will receive financial help from the Ministry of Agriculture for the growing of mandarin oranges.
The choice was made after a discussion about how to use the money set aside in the 2023 budget for new agriculture initiatives at the Agriculture Ministry.
Mahinda Amaraweera, the minister of agriculture, emphasized both the enormous local demand for mandarin oranges and the substantial costs associated with importing the fruit on an annual basis.
“In 2022, nearly 2,407 metric tons of oranges were imported for a sum of Rs. 496 million. In 2019, nearly 7,773 metric tons were imported for Rs. 949 million. In this way, Rs. 670 million and Rs. 735 million have been spent in 2020 and 2021, respectively,” he revealed.
According to Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, the majority of the imported oranges are mandarin oranges, which may be grown in Sri Lanka.
The lower portions of the Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, and Kandy districts have been selected as areas with a favorable environment for the cultivation of mandarin oranges, he continued, adding that study on the growing of mandarin oranges in Sri Lanka has been fruitful.
The Minister has given the Department’s employees instructions to take action to construct the cultivation zones in the districts of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Badulla by the end of the current year after receiving a project report pertaining to the production of mandarin oranges.
