Sri Lanka Food Processors Association holds 28th AGM

The Sri Lanka Food Processors Association (SLFPA) successfully held its 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) recently at The Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo, with the participation of its members and industry stakeholders.

Established in 1997 as an advocacy group, the SLFPA today represents over 162 member companies, ranging from large multinationals to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), all dedicated to advancing Sri Lanka’s food and beverage processing industry.

The keynote address was delivered by Camelia Andria Bucatariu, Project Manager of the Circular Economy in the Food Sector Project, Sri Lanka (2024–2027), representing the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

In her presentation, Bucatariu emphasised the urgent need to address food loss, food waste and plastic packaging waste in Sri Lanka, highlighting that urban food waste alone accounts for nearly 56.6 percent of municipal solid waste or about 3,963 tonnes per day (FAO/IWMI, 2023). She pointed out the interlinkages between food waste and plastic waste across the supply chain and stressed the importance of scaling alternatives to single-use plastics, particularly in food packaging.

She further underlined that applying circular economy practices across the agri-food value chain can reduce losses, improve resource efficiency and create new opportunities for SMEs. Her key message was that integrating food waste and plastic waste strategies under a circular economy framework—through strong multi-stakeholder collaboration—can accelerate progress on climate action, food security and sustainable economic growth in Sri Lanka.

Outgoing President Thusith Wijesinghe reflected on the association’s journey, recognising the contributions of the 14 past presidents who have shaped the SLFPA’s growth. He also emphasised the success of the Pro Food/Pro Pack 2025 Exhibition and Annual Cricket Carnival. In a key announcement, he revealed the SLFPA’s plans to begin construction of a dedicated Secretariat and facility on Gothami Road, Borella—marking a significant milestone in the association’s long-term strategy.

At the AGM, the new Executive Committee for 2026/2027 was appointed, comprising Aruna Senanayake of C W Mackie PLC as President, Deepal De Alwis of Neochem International (Pvt.) Ltd as Secretary and Sanjeewa De Silva of Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd as Treasurer. 

The committee also includes Thusith Wijesinghe of Trans Continental Packaging Commodities (Pvt.) Ltd

as Immediate Past President, Nadishan Guruge of Mead Lee Trading Co. (Pvt.) Ltd as President Elect, Vasantha Chandrapala of Visvaka Marketing (Pvt.) Ltd as First Vice President, Damitha Perera of Forbes & Walker Commodity Brokers (Pvt.) Ltd. as Second Vice President and Rasika Seneviratne of Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC as Third Vice President. 

Supporting roles are held by Dineth Alahakoon of Country Style Food (Pvt.) Ltd as Assistant Secretary and Sameera Jayathilaka of Westmann Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd as Assistant Treasurer.

In addition to the above office bearers, the following 10 Executive Committee members were appointed: Nirosh Lalantha of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, Niroshan Dalpethado of C D De Fonseka & Sons, Sheran De Alwis of MA’s Tropical Food Processing (Pvt.) Ltd, Sanjeewa Niroshan of SGS Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd, Amila Weerasinghe of Nestlé Lanka Ltd, Thusitha Ekanayake of Anods Cocoa (Pvt.) Ltd, Praharshi Wickramasekara of International Commodity Traders (Pvt.) Ltd, Vijitha Govinna of Ceylon Biscuits Ltd, Rangajeewa Hettiarachchi of Fonterra Brands Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd and Kushan Amarasinghe of Finagle Lanka

(Pvt.) Ltd.