29 May 2020 10:26 am
Sri Lanka’s largest exporter of alcoholic beverages, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC was compelled to halt production and dispatch for nearly two months due to the curfew following the COVID-19 global pandemic.
With the resumption of production and economic activity in the country, Lion has already produced and dispatched several containers of beer to Uganda, UAE, USA, Canada, South Korea and Australia.
The Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC exports its produce to over 30 countries across the world.
Meanwhile in most of Lion’s export markets, off trade outlets such as liquor and beer stores and supermarkets remained opened even during lockdown, even in countries such as the UAE, USA and Australia.
In Africa, which contributes a significant part of the Lion brewery export business, was largely unaffected by the pandemic and buyers expressed urgency to receive their orders.
Having successfully concluded the last financial year in March, with a record growth of 49 percent in its export business and over 1,000 containers exported, Lion brewery is hopeful of diversifying its markets and attracting new business in the current financial year, in order to mitigate shortfalls in markets that have been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.