The State Timber Corporation (STC) has earned a profit of Rs. 3,735 million by the end of September 2022.
This was revealed in a discussion held by Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Minister Mahinda Amaraweera regarding the progress of the Ministry last week.
In particular, the STC is the only government institution that legally supplies high-quality timber products as well as timber required by the public and private sectors. Currently, due to the fact that the government has suspended the import of wooden furniture, there is a high demand for the furniture of the STC.
Minister Amaraweera advised to take steps to increase the income of the STC by another Rs. 250 million by the end of this year. The Minister, who is currently participating in an international conference in Washington, USA, made these comments while participating in the progress review meeting via Zoom last week.
Every house in our country expects to get furniture from the STC. Due to the long-term existence of furniture made from the highest quality wood, the public now buys furniture from the STC in large numbers.
Apart from this, the STC currently has more than 500 metric tons of ebony in stock, and the Minister instructed that steps be taken to manufacture furniture for export by using ebony and other wood.
The Minister mentioned that the government will not allow the import of furniture to Sri Lanka in the next few years. Therefore, the STC should take necessary steps to become the best supplier of timber to the Sri Lankan market as well as to become a government institution that will introduce its products to the international market.
The Minister also mentioned that all existing legal matters concerning the export of wood and wood products will be completed in the next two months. He said that the Government’s goal is to make the STC a foreign exchange earning institution.
Secretary of the Ministry Chandra Herath participated in this event.
