Sri Lanka Cinnamon Industry

Sri Lanka the “Spice Island” is renowned for the spices export for time immemorial. Cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, clove and nutmeg are the major spices which have an export significance to Sri Lanka. Cinnamon ( Cynnamomum Zeylanicum Blume) is one of the oldest and most significant spice grown in Sri Lanka. Cinnamon was a popular spice in ancient Arab world and was used as cosmetic and pharmaceutical ingredient as well. Firstly the Arabs and then Europeans became the traders in cinnamon and this brought Sri Lanka in contact with the other parts of the world. According to history, Cinnamon played a major role in world history, by motivating the Christopher Columbus to discover the new world and Vasco De Gama to South India and Sri Lanka. The traditionally known cinnamon was the peeled cinnamon bark rolled in to the quill form, which facilitate storage and transportation. Cinnamon oil distillation would have probably commenced during the Dutch regime.

The best quality cinnamon was produced in Negombo District. The major product of the cinnamon plant is quills. It is account for 63% of the volume and 72% of exchange earning. Other bark products are quilling, featherings, Chips, ground cinnamon, cinnamon powder, leaf oil and bark oil. According to Department of Export Agriculture reports, over 90,00 ha of wet zone land is Under Export Agriculture Crops (EAC), accounting for 9% the land under all perennial crops. There over 250000 small scale growers involved in cultivation and about 60000 of them depends on EAC as their main family income. In comparison to world market price, Except for pepper and clove (Which are exported to India ), prices of other products have a notably low price, compared to world market prices.

Cinnamon bark as well as other cinnamon products has wide applications in food and perfumery industries. They are also used in pharmaceutical and essence industries. Cinnamic aldehyde, the major constituent in the cinnamon bark oil, is an important food flavoring agent. Cinnamon oleoresin, an important product of cinnamon, has similar applications in the food industry. Eugenol, an aromatic compound, extracted from cinnamon leaf oil is often used for flavoring toothpaste along with mint and eucalyptus oils. The main producing area of cinnamon is the costal belt; Galle, Matara, Rathnapura and Hambantota.